


Write It Again

by FallingT



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alternate Universe - Twins, Antiva AU, At least one of the relationships will be slow burn, F/F, F/M, I'll be adding tags as I go, M/M, Maybe - Freeform, Open Relationships, Polyamorous Character, Polyamory, a bit of angst, a bit of comedy, boys loving boys!, girls loving girls!, slow updating, the bi-twins, twins au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-15
Updated: 2019-06-23
Packaged: 2019-11-18 13:05:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 35,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18121307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FallingT/pseuds/FallingT
Summary: Dani and Callisto journeyed to the Conclave along with their uncle, one to get some extra money in his pockets, the other to be witness to events that would shape the world.What none of them expected, was to be thrown into the thick of said events.Now key members of the Inquisition, both of them try to figure out what their place in the organization is and how to survive the incoming storm that awaits them.And while Dani gets proclaimed "The Herald of Andraste", Callisto is left in anonimity to work out her own story, one way or another.





	1. Prologue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Callisto and Dani arrive in Haven, just in time to be witnesses to the events that will shape the future of all Thedas.

“Remind me again why we’re here, Calli” the man asked, a thick accent rolling off his tongue as he trudged forward in the half-melted snow. The young woman walking next to him huffed, a cloud of cold puffing out in front of her half-hidden face.

“We are here, because I wished to be present to an event which outcome will, most likely, shape the history of Thedas for the foreseeable future” she answered, trying to bury herself in her furs even further. The cold was sharp and cutting, and it seemed that her body was steadily losing heat despite the heavy clothing she was wrapped in,

“That’s why _you_ are here” he pointed out between gritted teeth, barely suppressing a shiver when a gust of freezing wind came rushing at them from ahead.

The woman huffed again.

“Mother wouldn’t let me go by myself, said I’d only be allowed if you’d come” she said, definitely whining about her mother’s lack of faith in her survival skills. It wasn’t certainly the first time that she travelled away from home, but with the war going on in the south, the woman had refused to let her daughter leave by herself.

“I’m not surprised, you manage to hurt yourself in your sleep after all” the man snickered, earning himself a shove from his companion.

“ _That_ has nothing to do with _this_ , you asshole” she retorted, trying to defend her now wounded pride despite the truthfulness of his statement.

Her companion, though, was clearly undeterred by her injured ego.

“There’s also your scarce balance, your poor eyesight, your ever-running mouth, your slow reflexes, your-” he was cut off by another shove, this time a bit more violent than the other.

“Hush! I’d like to remind you that we came from the same womb!” she shot back, a bit amused herself. “Also, it’s not like you’re not gaining anything by being here; uncle has promised you a fair amount of money to be his personal guard, did he not?” she quickly pointed out, accusingly.

She was particularly bitter about this arrangement; she was the one that wanted to go and he the one getting paid to come along. Not that their uncle would deny her any resources she would need in her endeavour to record the events to come, but it sure would have been nice to have a stipend of her own that she could spend as she pleased; in recent years her parents hadn’t been very understanding of her continuous purchasing of magic-related tomes. They were worried that her interests could attract the Templars’ attention to them, though what they had to worry about she still didn’t get; none of them was a mage, and magic hadn’t graced their family’s blood since three and a half generations prior, and still it was a trait that prevailed only in their paternal grandmother’s side. So there wasn’t really anything to be worried about. Besides, Callisto already had somewhat of a reputation within the Order in her city, anyway.

“That he did” her brother replied smugly, his smile broad and satisfied at the memory of the sum that had been promised to him.

“Dani! Callisto!” a new voice called out to them from the head of the caravan, pulling them out of their sibling banter.

Brother and sister lifted their heads to meet their uncle strolling hurriedly through the snow.

“Yes? What is it?” Callisto asked, already bouncing on the ball of her feet, excited.

“We’re here. Haven” he announced, chuckling at the delighted sound that left his niece’s mouth and at the simultaneous groan out of his nephew’s. Those two might have been twins, but most of the similarities ended at their looks. 

“Really? Can I go explore a little?” she asked, looking at her uncle with those pleading eyes she had used on him since she was three years old and wanted candy.

The man paused for a moment, but when he wasn’t able to come with a suitable reason to deny her, he nodded his assent.

“Try not to bother everyone, dear!” he shouted to her back as she run towards the village’s entrance, though he was sure she probably didn’t even hear him, so absorbed in her surroundings as she already was.

 

Haven was white. And white was a colour she was not used to see, back home. Sure, she’d been near mountains before, but the little village nestled in the heart of the Frostbacks was something else entirely; everything in sight was covered in layers of snow, and had probably not seen the sun in a lot of time.

Callisto scouted ahead of her group, taking in every detail of the scenery as she went: outside the gates there were soldiers practicing with shields and swords – _why are there soldiers practicing?_ _I don’t recognize their livery_ – while a man, that looked like he had killed the animal he was wearing over his armour as a coat, shouted something about using a shield properly. From the other side came the noises of horses and that of a smithy, natural additions to the forces training right next to them.

There was a buzz in the air that was almost overwhelming to her; the number of people around her didn’t disturb her much, she did come from a big city, but to have them stuffed all in such a small place, with hundreds of voices and conversations overlapping, it did create somewhat of a sensory overload. Callisto felt the prickle of discomfort run down her spine, but a single deep breath of the chilly air was enough to have her regain her full excitement.

She was in _Haven_ , right in the thick of history! She was going to attend the Divine Conclave in the Temple of Sacred Ashes and see who and what was going to shape the future of the world!

She still couldn’t believe it, if she were to be honest; she had to fight a fierce battle with her mother to convince the woman to let her go, and she had relented only when their uncle had proposed to take both Dani and Callisto with him, to help bring his business in the south. The gathering would have been a good chance to expand his contact network, he’d said, and her sister’s children would be great help along the way. What mattered, in the end, was that Callisto was now standing in Haven, readier than ever to commit every single detail to both memory and paper.

With newly re-found anticipation, she sped up her pace, making her way through the crowd into the actual core of the village. It was a bit difficult to run around and not feel crushed by the crowd, with all those people around, especially when she was not a fun of being in a crowd to begin with, but her thirst for knowledge was far stronger than any fear she could have had.

 

Dani was not impressed in the least by Haven.

What was so exciting about a Maker forgotten shithole in the middle of the freezing mountains, he could not say. But of course, Callisto had already disappeared, always so eager to explore and collect information about any new place they visited.

 _And she’s the lazy one…_ he thought to himself, shaking his head as he followed his uncle and his men towards the entrance of the village.

Soon after a man wearing a uniform and a livery he could not recognize, approached the group and saluted them with a fist on the heart and a nod.

“Welcome to Haven my Lords. This way if you please, I’ll show you were you can set up your tents” the young man said – he could not have been older than seventeen and had a particularly deep and frustrating Fereldan accent that grated in Dani’s ears; what was a boy doing, wearing a uniform like that? Judging by the way he moved and talked, he would have thought him nothing more than a stable hand or a farmer’s son, surely not a member of militaristic order of any kind.

 _Whatever_.

He shrugged, obediently walking after the young soldier and his Uncle’s men to where they were supposed to up their small camp; he then helped unloading the carts and setting up the tents, just a few more in the midst of a sea of colours popping out from the outlandish white of the background.

Soon after they were done, snow started to fall.

“I should not have let Calli drag me into this...” he sighed to himself when he spotted the first flakes coming down a sky that was as white as the soil he was standing on.

“So much fucking snow...” he grunted, definitely disgusted.

Snow was gross, all that white and that cold, it was so wet...and it crunched! UGH.

For a second he closed his eyes, picturing the bustling and very much warmer streets of Rialto, imagining the feeling of the hot sun caressing his bare arms and neck.

Sadly, the cacophony of boots crunching on snow did not help his mind to soar to warmer climates.

“Hold on Dani, this will be over soon...” he mumbled, shooting one last glance over his shoulder before he retreated inside the tent.

 

“Have you seen what a good job they have done in the Temple?” Callisto asked, looking around awestruck as they walked down yet another hallway.

Dani only grunted in response.

“Oh how I would’ve loved to be here when they found it for the first time!” she went on ranting, barely paying attention to Dani noncommittal sounds.

“Oh yeah, with all those cultists that you could have talked to death!” her brother mocked her, snorting at her words.

Calli scoffed.

“At least I can appreciate the work of art that this place is” she grumbled, crossing her arms and lifting her head to watch the ceiling where a series of frescos and stuccos decorated every single inch of space.

“I'm here to protect you from yourself, not to admire the view” he said, marking his words by promptly pulling her to his side to save her from a corner she had seemed so intent to cut with her face.

“And if you go on like this, this temple will have a pretty nasty stamp of your face too, together with all these fancy Chantry paintings” he added, making a face as they passed yet another portrait of some stuffy Chantry member or whatever.

“They are rather pompous, aren’t they?” she laughed, stopping right in front of one particularly detailed painting of some Cleric whose name no one probably remembered. “This one’s probably Orlesian, look how pretentious it is!” she snickered, making faces at it to imitate the stiff pose the subject had been represented in.

Dani watched his sister making fun of the funny-looking Chantry cleric, a fond smirk painted on his full lips.

How could someone who was so full of pride over her own intelligence act like such a fool all the time?

She was hilarious.

They were still giggling between themselves when they heard it.

A scream cut through the silence of the Temple.

Brother and sister looked at each other and hesitated for a couple seconds.

“We should check it out...maybe someone’s in danger...” Callisto suggested, ever the busybody when it came down to helping other people; Dani didn’t really understand it, but she always told him she got a deep sense of satisfaction in knowing she had helped.

“Calli, I don’t have my sword! And you don’t know how to fight! What can we do?” Dani tried reasoning with her, though by the look on her face he already knew it would be a lost battle; they were about to get into trouble.

“I know how to-” she started to protest, but a quick glare from her brother had her change direction. “We should go get the guards!” Callisto tried, even though as soon as the words left her mouth she knew it was a bad idea.

“Not an option! Should I remind you that we sneaked in here without permission?!” Dani, in fact, interjected, scratching her suggestion immediately. He was right, of course, even if the repercussion of their intrusion seemed of little relevance in the face of whatever had caused such pained screams.

Callisto was about to object to her brother with said reasoning when another scream reached them.

“Someone! Help me!” the voice cried out in pain, one last desperate note colouring it as it dispersed through the corridors.

Calli took that as a sign to act upon on, and without further ado, she took off running towards where the voice had come from. Dani was startled to see her rush off head first into danger, but after a beat he chased after her.


	2. Chapter One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Callisto wakes up to find both her brother and her are now part of the "Inquisition" - oh, and there's a hole in the sky.

Callisto woke up to voices shouting next to her, and before she could even focus on where she was or why she’d been passed out in the first place, a door banged closed somewhere, and she zeroed in her brother’s presence by her side when she distinctively heard him sigh, defeated.

Dani’s voice sounded hoarse and rough, as if he’d been yelling for hours, but her head was still fuzzy and couldn’t properly make out the words of the argument he seemed to have been engaged in.

She stirred uncomfortably where she was lying down – was it a bed? – and the groan that left her mouth stopped the conversation in the room at once.

“I believe your sister is waking up” someone said, the smoothness of the tone almost like a soothing balm to her ears after all the shouting; she wanted to open her eyes, to see what was going on around her, but when she tried, she found she couldn’t.

In a fit of sudden panic, her hands shot towards her face, frantically clawing at her eyes only to find a tightly bound set of bandages around them, making it impossible for her to even pry them open in the slightest.

“Easy there, Calli, easy!” her brother’s voice called out, right next to her ear. Calli felt Dani’s hands gently removing her own from her face, guiding them back down at her sides. “You’re safe, you have nothing to worry about” he went on, trying to calm her down. “Deep breaths now, you know the drill” he joked lightly, helping her through the breathing exercises in order to help settle her panic attack.

Callisto followed his lead without questions, for once, and when she found she could breath normally, she hazarded to speak.

“W-what happened?” she tried to ask, but her throat was dryer than the desert and her voice came out in an ugly croak. Before she could even fathom to ask, strong arms helped her lift herself into a seated position, and a cup of water quickly appeared in her hands for her to drink. She drank the whole thing greedily, her body feeling as if she had gone without for far too long as it absorbed the vital liquid back into its every crevasse.

“Can we remove the bandages now, Solas?” Dani asked, taking back the now empty cup from his sister’s hands and placing it somewhere, probably on the ground.

Solas, the man with the soothing voice, hummed pensively for a fraction of a second.

“Yes. I have done what I could to heal the damage, it should be fine now” he replied to her brother, and Callisto somehow pictured him nodding his assent as he spoke.

“Ok, then” she heard Dani breath out, before he took a deep breath himself. “Calli, I’m going to remove the bandage, please refrain from opening your eyes until I tell you to, ok?”

Callisto didn’t really have words to reply with, her head was already swimming in hundreds of thoughts, so she simply bowed her head once, signalling she was ready to follow his directives.

As gently as possible, Dani moved a bit closer to his sister, reaching behind her head to undo the knot that kept the dressings tight around her face; it took him a moment to remove the small tangle of cotton, and after a couple seconds, Calli felt the bandages coming loose on her eyes.

When it was finally removed, she felt a rush of cool air brush against her eyes and flinched slightly when she felt a trickle of pain bite at her apparently sensitive skin. With trembling fingers, she tentatively hovered her hand over the newly exposed skin, her breath hitching when she passed over a line of raised and jutted skin – a clear sign that there was now a large scar crossing in a jagged line between her eyes.

She was startled to realize the presence of the wound… what exactly had happened to her? Her stomach started to knot itself over and over, letting her know that panic was right around the corner-

“Breathe sister – the wound is healed, your fine” she heard her brother say over the cacophony of her own swirling thoughts, his own hand coming to rest reassuringly on her shoulder, squeezing down.

The contact did calm her down a bit, but she was still afraid to open her eyes;  her sight had already been bad previous to _whatever_ this had been, and steadily degrading. What if the wound she had received had been fatal for her eyes? What if she had gone blind?

Callisto was trying very hard to keep her breathing pattern in check, grounding herself through the heat coming off of her brother next to her. The last thing she wanted was a panic attack before she even knew what the situation was; once she opened her eyes, if things had gone badly, _then_ she would allow herself to have one. Or several, depending on the severity.

Her eyelids peeled back slowly and with some difficulty, probably because of the scar that now adorned them and the long period she had spent with her eyes closed, but eventually she managed to blink them open.

At first, it was hard to focus on anything, and all she saw were white shadows, dancing each in front of another, confusing, faltering, disappearing, causing her to shut them instantly, in fear she might, indeed, have gone some sort of blind.

 _Breath Calli, you can do this_ she told herself as she readied to try again; Dani’s hand squeeze her shoulder once more, encouragingly.

A heartbeat, and she opened them again, more cautiously and slowly this time, giving them time to adjust to the light filtering in from somewhere behind Dani.

Finally the hazy mist began to disappear and Callisto started to make out the outline of the room she was in. The cabin was small, she could see the entrance from where she was, and the light that had hurt so bad in the beginning was coming in from a window on the opposite wall, mingling the white of the outside with the warm tones of the fire she hadn’t even noticed roaring right next to the bed.

She turned around slightly, the covers brushing over her legs, and a man she had never seen before came in to view. He was standing next to her bed, back straight and arms crossed behind it, and was watching her very attentively, with the clinical eye of a healer, Callisto noticed.

A spark of something danced through his gray eyes when she fully turned towards him and their eyes found each other.

“It seems you still retain your ability to see” he told her, and Calli recognized his voice as the man her brother had been talking to, _Solas_. “Good. How are you faring?” he then added, a line of concern creasing his brow in spite of his relief.

“I- am not sure...” she trailed off, taking some time to adjust to what she was actually experiencing at the moment. The contours were all sharp and defined, colours seemed as bright as she’d never seen them and for a second she even thought she could see the threads of Solas’ cream tunic, the details so acutely defined she could swear she saw every thread that composed the garment.

“Tell me what you see” he prodded her gently, concern and curiosity mingling in his tone in equal parts.

“This is- it should be impossible” she said, her words hitching slightly as they came out in a startled breath.  “I- I can see every little detail, everything’s so…so clear!” her eyes darted from the man, to the room, and then back to his own, a multitude of questions crowding her mind and face.

“How? I thought my eyes were deteriorating, such improvement is-” Calli was cut off mid sentence in her wonder as she turned to finally see her brother, whose hand had never left her shoulder the whole time.

A fresh wave of relief washed over her as she realized that her brother was there, well and alive, in front of her eyes, and she could see him like she never had before.

He was tall, his body covered in clothes and what seemed like some sort of chainmail that were new to her, but that hugged his form perfectly, showing off his lean figure and muscles. His hair was all ruffled up, strands sticking out everywhere, even sticking to his forehead where they had escaped the tight confinement of the small braid he was used to tie them into – he was always such a show off! When she was able to see his face, she noted with a bittersweet feeling that the brown eyes that had always matched hers were tired, and the dark circles under them were a clear enough tell for how many hours of sleep he had lost. His sharp cheekbones were a little bit sharper, and a fresh scar adorned the right one just a few inches from his nose. He was smiling at her, though she could see that it faltered as soon as their eyes met.

“Solas, tell me I’m not imagining this” he said, barely sparing the man a glance as if he was incapable of looking away from his sister’s face.

“You are not” Solas sighed in reply.

Silence fell on the room, and Callisto could start to feel the prickling touch of anxiety clutching her stomach once again.

“Dani, you’re starting to freak me out” Calli croaked, her voice still definitely hoarse and in need of some more water.

She saw her brother hesitate, doubt clear all over his face as if he was debating whether to lie to her or not; he was also a terrible liar, which he knew, as he knew Callisto could tell when he was not telling her the truth. In the end, he yielded.

“Calli, your eyes-”

As if on cue, the door once again sprang open, quite violently at that, to allow access to a very determined-looking woman.

The newcomer swept the room with a clinical glance to assess the situation quickly, and Callisto was able to take in her features and general looks. She was definitely tall, taller even than her brother, and she was clad in tight looking leather pants and a breastplate, on which rested a symbol Calli was familiar with; her deep black hair were crowned by a braid and made for a striking contour to the sharp lines of her serious looking face, adorned with scars that told of her life as a fierce warrior. She still didn’t have a clue on who this woman was, but the brand of the Seekers of Truth on her chest already told her enough.

 The woman was ready to speak a second later, but her mouth shut closed the moment her eyes landed on Callisto’s face.

“Why are her eyes glowing?” she half yelled, half demanded, her own voice unsure if to be authoritative or just really confused.

Callisto first heard Solas sigh with something akin to displeasure, then saw her brother cringed expression, and then finally registered the words that had just been spoken by the very blunt woman that had barely just barged in.

“…glowing…” Callisto repeated in a whisper, over and over, until she could bring the pieces of the puzzle together.

“My eyes are glowing” she said, her voice as neutral as it could have been. It wasn’t a question, not even an accusation. It was a pure, disbelieved statement.

“Yes, they are” Solas said, matter-of-factly. 

“Why?”

Her question went unanswered for several, long minutes. No one seemed inclined to give her a reply to what she thought was an easy question to ask, and in the silence she imagined lied a truth not as easily describable.

It was her brother that broke the quite first, with a long, drawn out sigh.

“It’s complicated, maybe it’s better if we show you” he finally told her, cringing as he repeated the same words Cassandra had used with him almost a week before. The irony was not lost on him.

“Show me what, exactly? What has happened? The last thing I remember was that we were sneaking in the Temple to take a peak, then-“ she broke off her sentence, both because she couldn’t continue it since she apparently had no memory of whatever came next, and because everyone in the room was watching her with varying degrees of disbelief.

“You said you didn’t remember going inside the Temple-!” the woman immediately shot forward, as if ready to assault Dani at the first sign of lying coming from him.

Her brother groaned.

“ _I_ don’t” he deadpanned; clearly, they had discussed the issue before. “But apparently _she_ does” he went on, unable to get one more word in before the Seeker grunted her displeasure at him.

“Whatever the case, the Council needs to be informed of this; I will summon them in the War Room, be there as soon as you can” she commanded, nodding once before turning on her boot-clad feet and disappearing quickly out the door, letting it bang close with just as much strength as when she had entered.

“I won’t get an explanation on what just happened, will I?” Callisto found herself asking tersely, her mouth pulled into a grimace.

It had barely been half an hour since she had woken up, and already she was neck deep in things she didn’t understand; at that point, there was probably nothing much that could make her head spin faster.

“You will soon, trust me” Dani replied, just as dejected as she felt.

 

As it turned out, there were many things that could make her head spin much, _much_ , faster than waking up after a week-long coma with glowing _green_ eyes.

One of said things was the giant hole in the sky – _the Breach_ , as Solas had called it, that as she had understood it, was _nothing_ _but_ a tear between the waking world and the Fade.

Apparently, both Dani and herself had fallen out of one of the smaller rifts that the Breach had caused to open all over the southern continent (if reports were accurate), and both of them had been touched by the fade in some way. Solas suspected what was happening with her eyes was a direct result of being in contact with the Breach, just as the mark on her brother’s hand was.

And oh yes, Dani had ended up with a tear on his left hand that was connected to Fade, which gave him the abilities to close the rifts and even stabilize the Breach itself, albeit he hadn’t been able to close it. As her brother explained, he had woken up maybe a day after the explosion that tore the Temple of Sacred Ashes apart, and had been thrust in the thick of chaos by Cassandra (the Seeker) to try and fix the sky based on what Solas had theorized. Despite being able to mend the smaller tears, the Breach had resulted too strong for him to close by himself, though whatever he did to it, it turned out enough to stabilized it and avoid any further expansion of both the hole in the sky and the one on his hand, which up until that point had gingerly been trying to kill him.

Callisto didn’t know whether she felt relieved to have slept through the worst of it, or guilty because she hadn’t been at her twin’s side to help him when he most needed it.

Regardless, now that she was awake, she would not leave his side for anything in the world.

When they reached the Chantry, Solas politely excused himself, leaving the siblings alone to traverse the dark and musty hall of the building all the way to the very back, where a door stood between them and the ‘War Room’.

“Here we go, then” Dani said, a hand moving to the pommel of the door. He stopped right before opening it, though, and turned to his sister.

“Before we go in…” he started, trailing off for a second before setting his eyes on hers, suddenly very serious. “Whatever will happen in here, it’s going to be overwhelming one way or another; if at any point you feel like leaving, just say the word. Your health certainly comes before the Inquisition” he declared, staring her down intensely.

Callisto nodded once, steeling herself for what was to come, and discretely avoided asking what in the void the _Inquisition_ was supposed to be.

An heartbeat later, Dani finally opened the door.

What they walked in, was not what Callisto had imagined when picturing a _war room_ – the space was too small, crowded by too many people and probably unnecessary furniture; the only things that perhaps belonged in the room were the enormous map table, and the scary looking individuals standing around it. Already she could feel herself getting nervous with so many pair of imposing eyes staring right at her, especially when at least half of those were regarding her with suspicion.

“It is a pleasure to see you awake, Mistress Salieri” the woman on her right said, and immediately her accent peaked her interest; she moved her gaze towards her, and besides getting literally blinded by the sheer golden of her puffy silk dress, she found a sort of familiarity in her chocolate skin, eyes and hair. The accent was also a dead giveaway, which helped to put her a bit at ease, at least.

“Thank you” Callisto replied, even though she wasn’t sure _who_ she was addressing. The antivan woman seemed to pick up easily on her distress, and with a smile she hurried to smooth in the creases.

“I am Ambassador Josephine Montilyet” she told her, executing a small yet very elegant courtesy following her introduction; everything about her, from her speech to her mannerism and choice of garments spoke a life of nobility and comfort, but Calli would reserve her judgment of the Ambassador for a later date, when she had more to go on than just her first impression.

To follow, the woman took it upon herself to introduce the other members of what Seeker Cassandra had referred to as _the Council_.

First, on her immediate left, was a _Commander Cullen_ , leader of the Inquisition forces.

“Such as they are” the man commented sullenly, practically shrugging off his own introduction.  Callisto took a moment to observe the man standing on the other side of the table; his rugged looks gave an impression of someone that hadn’t had a good night sleep in a long time, though somehow it was hard not to find him attractive at first glance. His blond hair, honey eyes and scarred lip really sold one hell of a look, even when he was wearing a scruffy looking overcoat that-

Callisto mentally paused, looking intensely at said item; why did it look familiar?

“I think I’ve seen you before…” she mused out loud, her head moving to the side while she was deep in thought, trying to recall were. The Commander seemed to stiffen at her words, almost as if he was fearing what she would say next.

Realization came to her, and her eyes perked up.

“Yes, when I first arrived to Haven, you were outside the gates shouting something about shields?” she wondered out loud, causing a snort of amusement to come somewhere from her left side.

Cullen sighed, his whole frame visibly relaxing.

“That would have been me, yes” he replied, chuckling at his own expenses.

Callisto offered a smile, but before she could add anything else Josephine was moving on with the introductions.

“And this is Sister Leliana” she said, leaving her own presentation up to the woman herself.

The title did remind her of something, but did not click in association with anything.

“My position here involves a degree of-”

“She’s our Spymaster” the Seeker rudely interrupted her with a huff, definitely not interested in hearing all the pretty bows and laces that the Sister was used to cover the truth with.

That earned her an icy glare that did not faze her in the least.

“Yes, tactfully put Cassandra” the Sister deadpanned, crossing her arms tightly in front of her chainmail clad chest. The hood that covered her head did ha good job of obscuring her features, but Callisto managed to make out a bob of pretty ginger hair and two cold gray eyes now looking at her.

Finally the Ambassador came around to the last person.

“And last but of course not least, Seeker Cassandra Pentaghast, Right Hand of the Divine” she finished, satisfied with her small parade.

Callisto frowned, pensively biting the inside of her right cheek until the information she had been looking for in her memories finally resurfaced.

“I see, so that would you make you the Left Hand, am I right?” she asked, nodding towards Leliana.

“Yes, that would be me” she replied, her tone maybe a little more guarded than what had been previously.

“I offer my condolences to you both, then” Callisto said respectfully. Dani and Solas had given her a quick rundown on the events previous her awakening, and despite her opinion of the Chantry, she was not as heartless as to not recognize a loss such as this; all the faithful were mourning, no doubts, but these women had been the closest with Divine Justinia, and they were probably hurting the worst.

Both women did not reply to her words, simply offered a bob of their heads in sign of appreciation.

The mood had quickly soured, and despite now having names to put on the faces of these people, Callisto still had questions she wanted answered, starting with a very easy one.

“Right. It’s a pleasure to meet you all, really, and I’m grateful for what you did for my brother, but now I do have a fundamental question” she started, smiling somewhat sheepishly when her brother gave a questioning look next to her. She scrolled her shoulders, trying to convey to Dani that she was not about to cause any ruckus with her blabbering.

“Please, do ask. We have questions of our own for you, if you don’t mind” Josephine prompted, reaching for a writing tablet that had been lying on the table the whole time; quill in hand, she looked expectantly at Callisto.

“Ok, sure, no problem” she said, immediately clearing her voice as she went to ask her probably stupid question. “Now, easy query: what, exactly, _is_ this _Inquisition_?” she finally voiced, having tried and failed to figure it out since her brother had mentioned it before the meeting. The name alone was certainly ominous, and the fact that they had a Commander leading more soldiers really didn’t fit in a peaceful picture.

The whole room stilled for a beat.

“The Inquisition is an organization meant to bring order where there is only chaos, it was the Divine’s idea: a last resort to put an end to the Mage-Templar conflict if the Conclave failed in its attempt, which it clearly has” Leliana was the one that offered the explanation, and the passion was strong in her words; clearly she felt strongly in this organization, mainly because it had been Justinia’s wish, she wagered. Though all of them had stakes in the war, which would only escalate now that the Breach was a _thing_.

“Though now our main objective is to close the Breach, we are still looking for a solution to the conflict, which would also benefit our predicament” Josephine continued her colleague’s speech, scribbling something on her board with a quill she had produced seemingly out of thin air. “The Herald was not able to mend the tear on his own, but Master Solas has theorized that with enough energy behind him, the mark would have the necessary strength to finish the job” she went on, and Callisto raised a hand before she could go further than that.

Everything made sense to her, for now, but one thing.

“Who or what, exactly, is the _Herald_?” she asked, flabbergasted. The Herald of what, was also something she was wondering.

“Ah, that would be your brother. Master Dani has been named the Herald of Andraste by the population of Haven; since some have declared to have seen a female figure behind you when you stumbled out of the rift, they see your brother intervention with the Breach quite literally _divine_ , considering his appearance as a sign from Andraste herself” the Ambassador supplied with great efficiency.

Callisto had to do her best not to cringe _too hard_ at what she heard, opting instead to turn towards her brother who, in turn, was definitely squirming _very hard_ at her side. It came as no surprise that he would not feel comfortable being associated to closely with the religious figure, especially because of the implications the title would bring along; never mind the constant attention it would put him under.

“I- uh, really don’t know what to say to that, sorry” she replied apologetically, though she wasn’t sure who she was talking to, precisely.

Her stand on the Chantry was pretty much the same as her brother’s, since as twins they had shared the majority of their lives together and had been influenced by the same events, but she was kind of certain it was better to keep it for herself, for the time being.

“There’s really nothing to say on the matter, the rumours have been spread and-” once again Leliana found herself being interrupted quite harshly by Cassandra.

“We haven’t done anything to stop them from spreading” she added, and Calli could see the conflict going on inside of her. Being one of the Hands of the Divine meant Cassandra was a woman of great faith and a devoted Andrastian, it was possible she felt conflicted in giving out so freely such a heavy title and at the same time felt forced to believe that Dani was really Maker-sent.

“And I still don’t agree with it” her brother finally said, whining as much as he could in such a professional and sombre circumstance.

“I see. Well, if we fell out of the rift together, and _he_ ’s been named the Herald of Andraste, what exactly does that make of _me_?” it was a legitimate question to ask, in her opinion.

The member of the Council, minus Cassandra whose role was still a mystery to her, exchanged a long, meaningful glance; even in the dim light, Callisto was surprised to be able to read the doubt in their eyes.

Right, new enhanced glow-y eyes.

“The population of Haven is not aware of you; those who saw you fall out of the rift believe you dead. We did not know whether you would pull through, and we thought it better not to involve you as such. And, before we inform anyone else of your survival, we would like to understand what you remember and especially if you, too, bear the same ability as your brother.”

Leliana seemed to be the one in charge when it came to deliver ominous speeches, apparently, and Callisto had probably never heard one more ominous than that one. To her, now that she thought about it, that whole Inquisition business sounded a bit too permanent and possibly final, as if neither of them really had a choice in the matter.

“Dani hasn’t told me much, but I believe our recounting will be more or less the same. I came to Haven to be a witness to the Conclave, to the shaping of Thedas’ future, my brother came as my escort, and both of us travelled with our maternal uncle… which now that I think about it, is probably dead” she trailed off for a moment, needing to take a deep breath before the grieving got too much to shoulder. She would mourn him in another moment, possibly in the privacy of her room where no one else could see her. “I remember arriving in Haven -  I run off to explore the village while my brother and uncle set our camp somewhere along the path to the temple; the last thing I remember was dragging Dani with me as we sneaked in the Temple in the middle of the night. I was curious to get a look at the insides before it would be overrun with people…” she told them, seeing no point in omitting the detail of their escapade since Cassandra had already heard about it in the first place; also, what secrets could she keep from the founding members of an organization aptly named _The_ _Inquisition_ , anyway?

The reactions to her story were mixed;  while it was obvious that her words had been similar to her brother’s, the last part was causing somewhat of a reaction in the group.

“You _sneaked_ into the Temple…” Cassandra repeated, incredulous.

“Yes, I believe we did. But I figure the most relevant detail now is that my eyes glow the same way his hand does” Callisto said, dismissing the Seeker and her disbelief for what she thought was a much more pressing issue; after all, whatever had happened to the Temple, it was apparent her brother had been released of every suspicion or notion of responsibility, so it was better to focus on the matters at hand: like, why her eyes were glowing.

“That is quite unnerving, to be honest” Cullen commented, slightly grimacing before his neck flushed a bright red and he threw her an apologetic half smile. “Ah, no offense to you, my lady” he hurried to add.

“None taken, Commander. I haven’t been able to see for myself, but the reactions I got were quite telling” Callisto replied with a chuckle, shooting a quick glance to both her brother and the Seeker, whose reaction had been by far the most entertaining, if she had to find a silver lining.

“Solas said that the same thing that put this mark on my hand, likely has done a similar thing to her eyes; we both share a connection to the Fade” Dani told the Council, reporting briefly what the man had explained to them back in the cabin.

“If your marks are the same, does this mean she could close rifts as well?” Cassandra asked pragmatically, for sure, shifting the attention in the room.

Dani clenched his marked hand in a fist, not particularly pleased at the idea of putting his twin sister in danger.

Yes, he had been the one to suggest she was involved in the Inquisition’s affairs once she was recovered, but Callisto was no fighter, she could not be sent in the field. Not without training. Maybe not at all, if he could help it.

“It is a possibility, but a dangerous one to be tested, for sure” the Spymaster prompted in reply to the other woman’s inquiry, soliciting a small amount of relief out of the Herald.

“There are a number of smaller rifts that remain around the temple, maybe we could test it there? A controlled environment with both Templars and Mages to survey the act, at the first sign of trouble the magic could be suppressed and the Herald could close the rift instead” the Commander decided to throw his two coppers in the discussion, his first intervention since it had begun.

The idea did not sound appealing to Callisto, especially after having heard just how painful it had been for her brother, though she suspected there wasn’t much choice at all to be had in the matter.

“That would mean keeping Calli out and away from the fight until we have dispatched all the demons, she is no fighter and knows barely how to defend herself against other beings of _this side_ of the Fade” Dani intervened, sparing a glance to his twin – who was now scowling something fierce at him, and not only because he hadn’t mentioned _demons_ pouring out of the rifts.

“That is uncalled for, brother. I’ve been training with the halberd for several months now, you know that.” She was hurt by his words, demeaning her in front of those people that hardly even knew them; he knew she despised coming off as the classical damsel in distress, which was why she had taken up learning how to fight with such an unusual weapon behind her parents disapproving backs in the first place.

“Hitting a dummy or a sparring partner with no intention of hurting you, is not really the same as being in the thick of the skirmish” Dani replied sternly, having himself gone through a similar training with his sword and shield for the past ten years of his life. He was well aware of the differences between training and real fighting, and hoped Cullen would point it out as well.

He looked at the Commander expectedly, raising a brown when the man still said nothing to his sister’s foolish notion.

“Ah- uhm, the Herald is correct. While I would encourage to pick up your training where you left off, I’m afraid mere months are not enough to consider you battle-ready, my lady. If you would, we could find you someone that could help further improving your technique with such a _unique_ weapon” he replied quite pragmatically, appealing to both siblings with a single statement.

Callisto seemed appeased by the man words, though she did not refrain from scoffing at her brother nonetheless. He had been of the same opinion of her parents when it came to her ‘apprenticeship’ with Rialto’s _Alabardieros_ , and even though she was fairly certain his disapproval sprouted out of concern for her wellbeing rather than propriety, the lack of support on his part was still a sore spot between the two of them.

“If that is how it has to be, then I’m fine with being babysat during this experiment” she acquiesced to the plan that had seemingly been laid for her; no one else had opposed to the idea, which Callisto supposed was as good as an outspoken agreement to their little excursion.

“It is decided then. We’ll give you a day more to rest, then we will head out to the Temple” Leliana finally voiced, nodding once. “In the mean time, we should prepare for your journey to the Hinterland” she continued, pointing at a marker on the map that rested just below the town of Redcliffe. Callisto knew the name quite well, having read a lot on the Arling and its history during the Blight.

“I agree. The sooner you can bring some resemblance of stability to the region, the more chances the Inquisition will have to bring an end to the conflict plaguing it” Cullen added, his hand resting on the pommel of his sword as he focused on the reports that were neatly piled in front of him.

“The war has spread so deep in the south?” Callisto asked, peeling her eyes off the map to focus on the Commander.

He nodded grimly.

“Yes, our scouts report that the Hinterlands are facing the brunt of the skirmishes; Mages and Templars alike are running wild, killing civilians and each other without much regard for nothing” he explained, a sneer pulling at his scarred lips.

“Your brother is to head there to make contact with a Mother Giselle first and foremost, but it is essential he help restore some of the peace as well, so that we can spread our influence” Leliana followed up on Cullen’s statement, helping Callisto piece together the picture of the situation she now found herself in.

“I will accompany him, of course” Cassandra piped in, somewhat trying to reassure her that her brother would not be in any immediate danger – or at least not as many as he would if travelling alone.

“Solas and Varric will join us as well” Dani added, to further mitigate the protests he knew were already forming on the tip of her tongue. Of course she would protest, but they had made it pretty clear that without some more training she was not allowed to join the fighting, hence she doubt she could join him anyway.

“That reassures me” she told him, offering a small smile of reassurance.

The room stilled for a moment longer, and Callisto picked up on her queue to leave the Council to its _possibly secret_ planning and organizing.

“I will leave you to it then. If you have further need of me, please knock at the door before barging in as I will probably be sleeping” she told them, teasing a bit as she took her own dismissal.

She shot a cheeky grin to the Seeker as she said that, then gave a polite nod to the others and walked out the door, more than ready to go lay down and try to process the lead of information she had just received.


	3. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Callisto tries to close a rift, and of course her brother got the easiest mark to use.

The two days that followed her awakening and the meeting with the Council were filled with both rest, since as it turned out she was still pretty debilitated, and excitement.

During her waking hours she met several times with the Commander to coordinate the expedition to the rift and introduce her to the men and women that would accompany her (there were, in total, a grand number of three templars and two mages, one of which was Solas) so that she would feel more of a person being escorted than a package being delivered, and to make sure she understood what they were about to do and the dangers they would encounter once engaged with the rift.

She reassured him she would keep away from the fighting, and listened carefully to every word he said to appease him.

One other person she spent considerable time with was Solas; the mage wanted to make sure that, for one, her sight was not suddenly deteriorating and that her eyes still functioned properly. He offered her a mirror at one point, and basically had had to scoop Callisto’s jaw up from the floor once she had a good look at herself. Added to the several bruises and cuts that she had found all over her body, her face sported more or less the same picture, with the obvious new entry of her glowing eyes and the wicked scar now resting between them. The rich and warm brown she was used to see reflected back was now an acid greed consuming most part of her iris, almost choking her black pupils out of existence. It looked so much like the breach in the sky it was unsettling.

Solas assured her that, as her brother’s, the mark was stable for the moment and would not impair her vision, but also made sure to present her with all the possible complications of closing the rifts.

What Dani had to do was ‘easy’: he pointed his left hand at them and tug them close, but with the mark attached to her eyes, there was no guarantee it would work the same, or that it would work _at all_.

Callisto was prepared for it to hurt, though she found a little liquid courage wouldn’t be bad to add to her own, and the night before they were scheduled to leave for the Temple she found herself in the Tavern, _The Singing Maiden_ , making the acquaintance of one Varric Tethras. _The_ Varric Tethras.

Callisto had obviously read Tale of the Champion the moment the book became available out of the Free Marches, as well as followed every volume of Hard in Hightown, and had been a huge fan of his writing ever since. She was definitely surprised to find him in Haven, but soon recalled her brother naming him when talking about the oncoming journey to the Hinterlands; it also was kind of expected, since he had been deeply involved in the start of the War.

Varric explained that Cassandra had dragged him to Ferelden after interrogating him oh-so-mercilessly in Kirkwall to have him recount his story to the Divine, but that the Conclave went up in flames before he even had a chance to meet the woman face to face. He was there to help now, and would remain at least until the Breach had been closed and the war ended.

After a couple drinks and some chats, Callisto was pleased to know that the handsome author would be joining them the next day as added security, and left the Tavern in good spirits, definitely more relaxed than when she had entered.

 

The next morning saw Callisto ready to head out.

Upon waking up at the crack of dawn, she was surprised to see her brother already up and about, and even more so when he offered her a set of leathers, warm boots and a cloak to wear. He told her Josephine had had those made especially for her, and as she studiously put them on she noticed they were indeed made _for her_ in so much as they were practically perfectly fitting, as if someone had taken her measurements and then relayed them to have the clothes made. She preferred not to ask how it was even possible, and limited herself to accept the warm looking cloak, laying it down on her shoulders and securing it around her neck in appositely sown in metal circles where the laces of the cloak could be tied. The fabric was almost gigantic on her form, falling down around her shoulders and down to her ankles, and was coloured a deep reddish-brown on the outside, while laden with the softest furs she had ever touched on the inside.

“You look well, Calli” Dani said, looking her over fondly, a gentle smile tugging at his lips. Callisto chuckled, taking the compliment while she swirled left and right to make the clothe twirl around her, swooshing pleasantly.

“You look like a strapping, competent warrior yourself, Oh mighty Herald” she replied, bowing mockingly in front of him, laughing when she heard him sigh dramatically.

“Fuck you” he groaned, definitely done with even trying to compliment his sister for the foreseeable future. Instead, he clasped his own cloak around his shoulders and made for the door.

Calli followed him while still giggling, and together they made the trip to the tavern where, joined by Varric, they consumed a quick breakfast before setting out to the gates where the party was meant to gather.

Already, they found Cullen and Cassandra waiting for them, engaged in conversation with Solas; on the side, the small entourage of Templars and the only other mage that would join them, who seemingly had no qualms in milling about around the oh-so-dreaded jailors.

“Do these people even sleep?” Callisto muttered under her breath as they walked towards the group. It wasn’t even an hour past sunrise, and already they all looked as if they had been awake for several hours – or they hadn’t gone to sleep at all, in some cases.

Varric chuckled at her side, clearly appreciating her humour even though she had meant it more as a comment to herself than anything else.

 _The dwarf has a keen ear, noted_.

“Good Morning Herald, Lady Callisto, Varric” the Commander greeted them as he caught them coming down the few stairs from the gate to the inner part of the village.

Dani made a face at the title, probably still uncomfortable at being addressed in such manner, but politely greeted the three and nodded towards the others, coming to a stop right next to Cassandra. Callisto followed his example, throwing in an added small bow for a bit of posturing; this little stunt earned her an eye-roll from her brother, but she shrugged it off. She was still trying to make a good impression on those people, especially because since Dani was in for the long haul, apparently, than so was she; it didn’t matter if her eyes turned out to be useful in some ways or if they ended up just shining an eerie green light forever, as long as her twin was involved with the Inquisition, Callisto would be at his side, like she always had been throughout their lives. Hence the importance of at least making a decent impression on those that led the organization: the more they thought she was a level-headed person with a solid head on her shoulders, then the more likely they would be to not react poorly at the first stunt she was going to pull on them.

Because she would, _eventually_.

“We are ready to leave, if you are” Cassandra said after the greeting were exchanged. “Solas said you talked about the potential risks of closing a rift, do you still want to do this?” she then asked, turning towards Callisto.

She nodded.

“I’m aware of what could happen, yes, and I’m prepared. If I can be of any help to my brother and the Inquisition, then I’m certainly willing to test this.”

They all looked at her for a couple moments, assessing the truth behind her words, and then Cassandra nodded, apparently satisfied by her statement.

The group departed immediately after, and while Dani stayed in front, walking alongside the Commander and the Seeker, Callisto casually took up the middle of the party, followed behind by the templars and the mage while Solas and Varric flanked her.

They conversed of various topics, mostly brining her up to speed with the events that preceded the Holy Conclave and those that followed, in the week she had been comatose, and in turn she asked about their lives. While Varric made no secret of his exploits, he managed to remain vague enough about the whereabouts of his friends; but not as much as Solas, who evaded half of her questions and replied with super misguiding statements to the rest. Callisto did not pry further than what they offered her, and in exchange regaled them with some of her milder adventures; Varric was pleasantly surprised to know she was a fellow writer, though teased her about her choice of style saying she reminded him of someone he used to know, and Solas was caught off guard by her – even if limited – knowledge of elvhen. Callisto told him of her passion for foreign languages, and how she had befriended a Dalish Hunter once who had thought her some vocabulary and phrases; she also could speak all the antivan dialects, nevarran, a smudge of tevene, some orlesian and even a couple words of qunlat.

“How do you even manage to speak common without getting confused?” Varric asked, flabbergasted by the amount of languages she had listed off and the various accents she had mindlessly used as she pronounced each of them.

“It’s the first language I learned, and the one I speak the most, usually. Sometimes I do forget one word in one language, so there’s that” Callisto replied, smiling meekly. It was one of the difficulties she ran into the most, but it was a minor cost, really.

“Yes, that is indeed very frustrating” Solas agreed sombrely, clearly aggravated by this problem since virtually no one else could understand him were he to try and convey the missing word in elvhen.

“And you picked up so many of them just for the fun of it?” Varric went on, curious as to why she had focused on the specific field. He knew that being able to speak and write in different languages was a pretty nifty skill to have, but what use could a girl have in it?

“Well, I come from a family of merchants, you know. My mom is the one who taught the majority of what I know, the rest I thought were useful to expand our business” Callisto replied easily, scrolling her shoulders. She was omitting that one of the primary reasons that had pushed to learn so many languages (other than being useful to her family) was that she could glean so much more information from people when she pretended – and was therefore pretty convincing in her deception – that she could not understand what they were saying.

A nifty skill indeed.

All the chatters were a good distraction from the long and tiresome trek up the mountain side, and she found herself grateful for the entertainment; that way, she could ignore her knotting stomach and thundering heart a little bit better.

But the distractions could do just so much, and earlier than she would have liked the whole company came to a stop.

Callisto side stepped her companions to get a better look, and her breath hitched when she caught sight of the pulsating green mass that was floating in the air about a hundred meters in front of them.

She took a step forward, her eyes seemingly unable to look away from the rift, and suddenly her head flooded with a hundred voices.

 _Help_ , they were screaming, _let us through!_

 _It hurts_ , they kept yelling.

_Help us!_

Callisto felt her head starting to pulse in tandem with the shifting rift, a headache pounding hard behind her eyes, but she could not stop walking. Her body was acting on its own free will, and she did not possess the strength to will it to stop.

A hand gripped her hard around her upper arm, grounding her where she stood.

Remotely, she was aware of several voices calling her name, but the screams coming from the rift were too loud to hear anything else above them.

A heartbeat later, the voices disappeared just as quickly as they had come crushing inside her skull and all the air in her lungs seemed to be forced out.

Callisto felt her knees give out under her and the hand that had been keeping her in place tightened around her bicep, gently helping her crumble to ground below.

She breathed heavily for a solid minute, hands digging in the cold dirt beneath her as she tried to regain the silver of consciousness that had been robbed from her both by the rift and the sudden dispel of magic performed to cut its influence off of her.

“Calli! Are you ok?!” Dani shouted from somewhere at her side. Her vision was still swimming, though, and it was hard to tell whether he was yelling right in her face or a mile away as even her ears were ringing and everything came to her in echoes.

Before she could reply, or give a sign that, besides feeling like throwing up everything she had eaten in the past two days she was alive, another voice rang over the chaos in her head.

“Demons! Coming through!”

At that, several swords unsheathed in a great cacophony of steel, which was quickly followed by battle cries and the actual beginning of the fight.

“Stay with her!” Dani cried over the noise of the battle before he, too, ran in to join the fray and cut down the demons that were now pouring through the tear.

“I’ve got you Glow-bug, don’t worry” she heard Varric say as his steps came up to her, the sound of mechanisms releasing as he readied to fire his wicked crossbow _Bianca_. 

Another set of steps came up to her other side, an seconds later she felt the cold relief of healing magic washing through her. After the wave had passed through, she no longer felt like she was going to spit out her whole stomach, and even the pounding in her head relented somewhat.

“Thanks” she breathed, looking up expecting to see Solas’ face. Instead, she watched as the other mage in their company gave her a court  nod before moving on to cast her own spells.

Callisto rolled over on her behind, placing her hands back in the cold dirt as her chest still heaved with deep breathes. Her eyes followed the mage; she hadn’t really paid attention to her when they had met nor when they set out, but looking at her now she wondered why she hadn’t noticed her striking features. Her body was lithe in the typical build of elves, and was clad in dark leather breeches covered by a long hanging deep crimson robe and a sturdy cloak; her feet, similar to Solas’, were bare. Calli set apart all questions about freezing feet and moved her eyes upwards, where her long, sharp ears were poking out from a head of wild, rich brown curls, seemingly unmovable despite the chilly wind of the mountain and her precise casting. The woman was giving her back, but the memory of sharp cheekbones and large ocean blue eyes set on dark ebony skin like precious jewels was still fresh in her mind.

Her focus shifted to the heat of the battle in front of her, and she observed her escorts dispatch the demons if not with ease, with something akin to grim resignation. The pulsing and shifting of the rift was also still tugging at her mind, urging her forward on her feet, but the screaming was gone.

When the last of the demons had been dispatched and returned to the fade, both Dani and Solas approached her, offering their hands to help her up so she could get closer to the tear. With some effort, she stood on her own, and though both men were still keeping their hands on her she didn’t need any support, for the rift was beckoning her to it, and Callisto was once more entranced, filled with the need to get closer, and closer, _and closer_ -

Her consciousness snapped sharply once she reached the heaviest area of influence, and before she could consciously made the decision, her head snapped up: her mouth hang open as if she were about to scream, and her eyes lit up in the same fashion the rifts did when Dani’s mark was pointed at them. A few tense second passed, Callisto’s body frozen in an unnatural pose with her face up towards the rift, and then the rift snuffed out of existence, slowly unravelling on itself before its green tendrils dispersed in the air and disappeared.

There was no loud explosion, no seemingly visible connection between Callisto’s eyes and the tear like there was with Dani and his mark, but the rift was clearly gone and the veil stitched.

The whole group watched with varying degrees of surprise and uneasiness, silent and purposeless.

But as the rift disappeared, so did Callisto’s forces; she crumpled, unconscious and bereft of all energies, between the two men.

The first rush of panicked reactions was quickly quenched at the reassurance she was still breathing, and after a quick assessment of her health she was deemed not in danger of anything more than a possible migraine upon waking up.

With a breath of relief, but with as many questions as when they had set out, the little expedition prepared to make way down the mountain path once more, Callisto secured tightly in her twin’s arms.

 

The next time she regained consciousness, it was to an empty, silent room.

Her head was pounding like never before, giving her the worst migraine she had ever experienced in her life, and her first reaction upon setting foot down the bed, was emptying her stomach in the strategically placed basin that was lying in front of her on the ground.

The door swung open right as she was heaving the last of her bile, and the rush of cold air made her shiver considerably.

She had no doubt she looked positively miserable in that moment, and dearly hoped it was just her brother coming to check up on her; Dani had seen her in varying states of miserable during their lives, and he had even held her once long hair when she vomited in the bushes after her first real hangover. Not a pretty picture, to be sure, but she had seen him in the same state as well.

Now, though, her luck was dry, and the padding of wet, naked feet on the wooden boards of the cabin’s floor announced a different visitor than her twin brother.

When she finally turned to face her guest, she felt a flush of awkwardness colour her cheeks.

Not even a day after being introduced (at least she thought it wasn’t more than that), and the woman had already seen her at her lowest twice in a row.

“You’re awake” the elven mage observed, her voice rough and raspy and clearly not prone to more jovial tones.

“I am, though I can’t say if it is for the best” Callisto replied wearily, helping herself up with a hand propped on the side of the bed. Grimly, she noticed that someone had changed her clothes again, and put her back in what she had been wearing before.

The elf smirked, walking towards the table set on the other side of the small room and setting down a series of vials and herbs she had been carrying the whole time. With practiced movements, she thumped some of those in a wooden cup, pouring water inside before heating it up with a small gesture of a hand.

“Here, drink this. Should settle your stomach while I take care of your head” she said, offering the now steaming hot cup to Callisto, which she accepted with a small _thank you_. Before sitting back down on the bed, she gingerly noticed that the mage was probably a little taller than her, though perhaps it was only an illusion given by her fluffy head of curls.

The woman gave her a satisfied nod as she turned, carefully lifting the now heavy with bile basin and moving it away from the bed to be disposed later, much to her chagrin, before returning to the table where she had left her vials.

Callisto watched her fiddle with them, probably as she decided which was going to be more effective on her or something, and weirdly enough she didn’t feel the need to fill the silence with idle chattering.

There were, though, a couple questions that she was itching to ask…

“Uh- Maude, was it?” Callisto asked tentatively, certain she remembered the name right but not sure the woman would want her to address her with her first name.

The elf stiffened slightly, making Calli cringe at the sigh, but ultimately her shoulders relaxed, and she resumed her work.

“Yes, that is my name. What of it?” she replied, her voice a mask of careful indifference giving away nothing, though her body had already betrayed her.

“I, uh- did the rift close, in the end? I’m afraid I might have passed out…” she trailed off, focusing on a second on her cup of soothing tea that even after a couple sips had already worked miracles on her stomach.

“It did.”

The two words held both reassurance and shock for Callisto; she would be lying if she said she had held any faith in the whole thing working out, but in the end she felt pleased it had.

Her memories of what had happened were confused, now that she tried to concentrate on them; she remembered walking to the rift, feeling her body shift to accommodate the energy of the Fade that was flowing through her, and… had that been a voice, still calling her? It had offered her something, and she had refused, and that was where her memories ended before she clearly lost consciousness.

“Folks say it’s different from what your brother does, but the edge mage confirmed it’s sealed all right” Maude added, almost as an afterthought as she finally settled on a couple of vials, putting the rest back in the pouch at her side.

“Well, that is a relief then. I’d hate to make all that fuss for nothing” Callisto said, chuckling, as she continued to sip on the tea. It was bitter, and maybe it would have tasted better with a smidge of honey, but it was doing its job.

Maude snorted at her words, turning to face her with the vials in hand: one a murky yellow, the other a bright orange.

“What matters is that now we have one more chance to settle this shit-show” she said, scrolling her shoulders. “Though it would be best if you didn’t pass out every time you did that weird thing; can’t really endorse that as a healer, you know” she went on, twirling the vials around in her hands. “That said, I’ll leave these with you. This one” she began, showing the yellow one “you take after you eat something, should banish that wicked headache; and the other take it if you feel faint. It’s just a regeneration potion, so it don’t matter when you take, just that you do” she finished, shrugging and placing the two potions back on the table.

“I have to go now, still a ton of work to do. Your brother said to tell you to find him in the Chantry if you’re up to it, got stuff to discuss I wager” she announced, nodding once to Callisto before almost power-walking to the door.

Calli jumped to her feet, a sudden need to voice her gratitude prickling on her skin.

“Thank you Maude!” she called out to the already retreating back of the woman.

Maude just lifted a hand and waved, not even bothering to turn as she took the couple steps in front of the cabin.


	4. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Letters are exchanged, shenanigans are... tried.

From Callisto S. to Dani S.

 

_Brother,_

> _It is barely been a week since you left and already I have news for you._
> 
> _Lady Josephine has suggested I write home to once more reassure Mother and Father that we are alive and currently helping the Inquisition. I wager they won’t be pleased with our recent recruitment, but they cannot do much about it. I have strongly advised against having them come to Haven, since beside being dreadfully cold, it’s not exactly the safest of locations to be and to reach, at the moment. I am not sure, though, that they won’t send Diego after us, if only to have further reassurance we are not jumping in something bigger than us; which, ironically, it’s what we have done, though not exactly out of our own volition._
> 
> _Also, Grandmother has been notified of everything too, Uncle’s passing as well, and the Ambassador has told me she already has pledged her house and resources to the cause. There will be a function to honour Uncle Alejandro, and even though we will be unable to take part in it, the Commander had gently offered an honour guard to represent us. A bit pompous, perhaps, but a show of good faith._
> 
> _Speaking of more exciting news, today I’ve started to plan out my training with the Commander: he was most surprise to know that I already posses a quite extensive knowledge in hand to hand combat, and assured me it is a solid base upon which to work. He is not versed in the way of the halberd, and it does not come as a surprise; few outside Antiva partake in such a discipline, but he is willing to let me participate in the soldier’s drills, at least until Reyes gets here._
> 
> _Yes, I’ve written to him._
> 
> _I know you are not exactly fond of him, but he’s the most reliable teacher and, quite honestly, the only one I will want to have with me. Having Reyes here will also be good help, both for my training and for the Inquisition, I’m sure of it._
> 
> _Sister Leliana agreed to have a letter delivered by her people, and I’m eagerly waiting to hear back. Even the lady Ambassador finds it a good solution, especially since Reyes was once a member of the Royal Guard and still holds some sway in many circles, despite his eccentricities._
> 
> _The only thing that remains is convincing the smith that crafting me a proper_ alabarda _is not a complete waste of time, but I bet I will win him over before you return._
> 
> _Stay safe._
> 
> _Yours, Calli._

 

From Dani S. to Callisto S.

 

_Calli,_

> _I’m glad you wrote to Ma and Pa, they will be happy to hear from you too. And even though I’ve told them we are as safe as it gets, I’m afraid I have to agree with you on the possibility of Diego joining us here in the south. I would prefer not, but I know that as soon as he gets wind of the Inquisition we’ll have him around; he was never one to renounce a_ “holy cause” _, though maybe our denouncement from the Chantry could be enough of a deterrent._
> 
> _At any rate, we finally managed to make our way to the Crossroads, and the situation is far worse than the Council anticipated. There’s open warfare between mages and templars in every corner, and the people are suffering the consequences. We are trying to help as best we can, but I’m afraid it will take more time than we thought._
> 
> _I won’t comment on Reyes’ possible presence, I’ll just let you explain to the Council what they have gotten themselves into when they agreed to let him come._
> 
> _I have to go now, there’s some possessed wolves that need to be dealt with._
> 
> _Don’t cause any trouble._
> 
> _Yours, D._

From Seeker Cassandra P. to Commander Cullen

 

_Commander,_

> _The Herald is managing the situation in the Hinterlands fairly well, his skills are improving with each day, and I’ve taken it upon myself to spar with him every morning._
> 
> _I’m writing to request the deployment of some forces to help with the building of watchtowers, as requested by Master Dennet in order to secure the horses._
> 
> _C.P._

 

From Commander Cullen to Seeker Cassandra P.

 

_Seeker,_

> _People are on their way, should be there in about a week._
> 
> _Keep up the good work._
> 
> _Commander Cullen._

From Sister Leliana to the Herald of Andraste

 

_Herald,_

> _My people caught your sister trying to sneak off to see the Breach by herself. She was redirected, but I’m afraid she will try again. She is getting bored._
> 
> _Nightingale._

From ~~Dani S.~~ the Herald of Andraste to Sister Leliana

 

_Nightingale,_

> _Can’t really help you with that, just give her some work to do when she’s not training. She’s good with languages, maybe she can help with that. Also drives a mean bargain, so there’s that._
> 
> _Bury her in things to do, though I won’t say it will be enough to keep her away from sneaking off again; she’s stubborn like that._
> 
> _P.S.: we should be on our way back in a week time, Mother Giselle already left ahead of us._
> 
> _Dani S._

From Callisto S. to Dani S.

 

_Brother,_

> _I know it was you who put Sister Leliana on my tail, you ass. I just wanted to do research._
> 
> _Also, Mother and Father wrote back: Diego is_ definitely _coming. Maybe we could trip him into a rift – just an idea._
> 
> _Still haven’t heard back from Reyes, but it doesn’t surprise me much – I’ll keep waiting._
> 
> _P.S.: the Commander wants me to assure you I’m not planning our brother’s murder - (I most definitely am)._
> 
> _P.P.S: since Leliana is reading this, I will also point out that our big brother is a real pain in the ass, in case she would like to help us trip him into a rift._
> 
> _Your best sister,_
> 
> _Calli._

From Dani S. to  Callisto  S.

 

_Calli,_

> _I will be back in Haven in two days, just refrain from trapping the whole village please. We’ll talk as soon as I’m there._
> 
> _Dani._


	5. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Callisto travels to Val Royeaux with her brother, all things considered it could have been a worse trip.

Between the journeys to and from the Hinterlands, the party returned to Haven after almost a month. The amount of work accomplished during said time was impressive: they had managed to free the Crossroads from the warring mages and templars, running down both encampments and rounding up all who surrendered; they secured the horses _and_ Master Dennet to go along with them; recruited a number of interesting parties; closed several rifts; increased the Inquisition presence in the region; rescued a lost druffalo and generally brought a newfound stability and peace to the region.

The Inquisition’s name was gaining fame, and several noble houses were quickly getting interested in their cause, though the majority still harboured at the sidelines, unsure whether allying with an heretic organisation would be beneficial to them or not.

Whatever the case, Mother Giselle had managed to secure them an encounter with the Clerics of Val Royeaux, meeting that the Council, along with Callisto, had already been discussing at length. While the younger woman had close to no opinion to offer in the matter, the Commander was vocal of his: he thought it a waste of time, time that could have been spent securing the alliance of either the Templars or the Mages (which he always added last, almost as an afterthought) instead of parading through Orlais to parley with the Chantry. While Callisto tended to agree with him, she knew it was more out of a bias than anything else; she, after all, did not possess the highest of opinions regarding the religious organization and its members (and neither she considered herself Andrastian, in truth), but could recognize the practical outcomes of such a meeting.

At worst, the Chantry would denounce them again, adding to their reputation as a force standing alone against all odds, and at best they could show even the Clerics that the Inquisition only meant the best for the people of Thedas.

Whatever the case, Callisto did not interfere in their discussions, knowing she did not have the influence that her brother’s title seemed to carry to really sway the decision in either direction.

When Dani finally returned to Haven, tired and possibly sick of the Hinterlands and its seemingly infinite supply of bears, the discussion swelled up in full force once again, having barely quieted in the past week or so.

“I don’t think we have much of a choice in the matter. The Chantry has denounced me and the Inquisition as heretics by association, we need to show our faces if we want to have a chance to sway the needle in our favour – even if I preferred not to be involved in the first place. Also, I think meeting a bunch of women in tall hats will be an easy feat after the Hinterlands, I doubt anything worse than a mob could ever happen” Dani had said during one meeting, therefore taking the final decision for the Inquisition to travel to Val Royeaux to meet with the Clerics.

“I want to go too, if you all don’t mind. I’ve always wanted to visit the city – I promise I’ll be on my best behaviour” Callisto hazarded, taking a step forward to have their attention on her.

The Council shared a series of looks, some amused, some almost resigned, but in the end relented to her request to join the Herald.

“Very well. If you are sure, we have nothing against it” Leliana was the one to deliver their consent, at last, nodding _almost_ amicably, though the scary undertone was not completely gone from her voice; it never really was.

“And what of your training?” Cullen asked, genuinely invested in the progress she was making steadily.

Cassandra interjected before she could form a reply.

“I will put her through her paces while we travel, she can train along the Herald” she said, and Callisto felt somewhat terrified at the prospect. The Commander might have been tough and stern while doing his job, but she failed to see him as an intimidating presence most of the time (unless he was screaming in her direction, of course), while the Seeker’s aura was daunting even on her best days.

“It is settled then. By the time you will be back, your trainer will have arrived in Haven, I’m sure” the Ambassador announced, collecting her papers and giving everyone the cue that the meeting was now over.

 

The journey to the Orlesian city went by uneventfully.

Callisto found herself dragged from sleep by her brother well before the sun was even up in the sky each day, to train with him and Cassandra, and while she appreciated the time the woman was giving them, what she found pleasure in was finally getting to know her a little bit better. While she was a deeply faithful person (and she wouldn’t have expected otherwise, from the Right Hand of the Divine), she felt deeply for a lot more things than just her faith, and it was a sentiment Callisto could share, since she was the same. Also, Cassandra’s banters with Varric were the most amusing thing she had witnessed in a long while, even better than that one recruit that had thrown his sword in the air after being spooked by the Commander yelling not even at him, but at someone else. Once they had scattered to avoid being impaled by the falling sword, Callisto had found the whole episode utterly hilarious, much the poor recruit’s chagrin; she had offered him a drink that same evening, though, as an apology for laughing.

Dani didn’t seem to share her same hilarity at the two’s banter, saying he had already heard his fare share of barbs in the Hinterlands, but Callisto kept inciting them both, much to everyone’s frustration.

One other interesting thing she had managed to accomplish, was roping Solas into teaching her more Elvhen. The older mage wasn’t as immune to flattery as he would have liked to pretend, and after a barrage of questions about the fade, spirits and magic, the promise was cajoled out of him pretty easily as his ego and knowledge were stroked accordingly.

They sat quietly at the fire every night, and Solas regaled her with the basics and the grammar while she studiously wrote everything down in the small ledger she had managed to acquire before leaving Haven thanks to the Ambassador. Once in a while, while on the road, the mage would pipe up and ask her questions on what he had told her during the evenings, and when Callisto answered correctly, he would smile and offer a _well done_ in elvhen.

Varric was more interested in getting details of hers and her twin’s life before the Conclave, having heard little to nothing from Dani, who was a decisively private person, and only just bits about her when he was inclined to brotherly slander her name. Callisto took care to recount most of her _less legal_ exploits when the Seeker was out of earshot, _especially_ when she mentioned her little undercover expedition to Rialto’s Circle of Magi, which had resulted with her hiding (or, more appropriately, being hidden) for more than a week on the inside, collecting first hand testimonies of how the Circle was being run and how the mages were being treated by the templars.

“You managed to stay hidden, in a Circle, for a _week_?” Varric asked, steadily more impressed of this innocent looking girl with glowing green eyes.

“Yes. It was not easy though, and I had help on the inside. Eventually though I was found out, by a mage and a templar going for a little secret tryst in the small side room I was squatting in, no less” Callisto replied, shrugging. She was still a little bit resentful of that couple for choosing just that room out of many other unoccupied ones

Varric laughed with gusto at the admission, making a mental note to remember that.

“Andraste’s ass, you are not as innocent as you look, Glow-bug” the dwarf chuckled, shaking his head.

“You don’t know the half of it” Dani commented drily as he accosted the group, clearly having heard their whole conversation. “She even managed to be escorted home but two Knights with no repercussion whatsoever” he added, glaring at his sister who just smiled cheekily and said nothing.

“Unbelievable” Varric muttered, still laughing lightly under his breath.

“What can I say, the Knight-Commander was a very sensible woman who valued her privacy very much, surely she would have loathed to have her relationship with the First Enchanter exposed outside of the Circle” she whistled, “also she was very pleased with the trading deal I offered her.”

The exasperated sound that left her brother’s mouth was priceless.

The tale was one of her favourites, though she always left out the most embarrassing details of how scared she had been when they’d dragged her all the way to the Commander’s office, or how sore her back was after a week of hunkering in a dark closet, or how awkward it had been to be caught by a Templar with his breeches down to his ankles and a mage sucking him off…

At any rate, she had returned home pretty satisfied with herself and her accomplishment, though the same couldn’t be said of her parents (and even her ever disappointed grandma), who grounded her for the next year or so. Not that she heeded the punishment, anyway.

“You are going to be full of surprises, aren’t you?” Varric commented, his eyes glinting mischievously.

 

It was another two days and half of travelling after that before they reached Val Royeaux, which golden splendour could be admired from several hours away, but eventually they arrived to the city to be met with unexpected news: the Templars had returned to Val Royeaux.

The outcome of that specific situation was nothing any of them could have predicted.

Not only the Templars had no intentions to go back to the Chantry, the self-assured Lord Seeker had even announced their quest for glory and would be extermination of all things magical – mages _specifically_ included.

The encounter had ended on a sour note for all parties involved: the Superior Mother who had been struck in the head rather unnecessarily; the Templars, who left bitterly unimpressed; and the Inquisition as well, who saw their opportunity to struck an alliance with the Order thoroughly crushed.

Cassandra seemed especially shaken; she told them she had not expected the Lord Seeker to act so selfishly and manic, and that he did not resemble the man she knew in the least.

The show-down with the Templars though, was surprisingly not the weirdest thing that happened while the party sojourned in the city: an agent of Red Jennies – a shady underground grid of spies, informants and much more – sent them on a treasure hunt across the whole city centre, which ended with the death of an unnamed posh Orlesian apostate, a skirmish with half-naked mercenaries, and a very confused elf‘s recruitment. Sera was something else, but Callisto had felt right at home with the woman and her odd manners and speech pattern, especially because of her reaction upon discovering that there were, in fact, two of ‘ _them glow-y ones_ ’.

The excitement did not end with Sera’s recruitment, though, and upon returning to the city for the night, the group was approached by a finely dressed man, inviting the Herald of Andraste to a soiree of one Madame Vivienne, First Enchanter of Montsimmard and enchanter to the Imperial Court.

Despite Cassandra evident lack of glee at the prospect, the rest of the party was pretty intrigued by the invitation, and the following night they travelled to the woman’s estate to be met with a fancy party and a reception of people who’s opinion was either intrigued or disgusted by their presence in arms and armour. After a small altercation with a man that knew well how to ridicule himself, Dani was swept away by the host of the house, Madame Vivienne de Fer, an intimidating woman that gave Calli contrasting feelings: on one hand, the mage was statuesque and breathtakingly attractive, on the other the ice that spilled from her fingertips was reflected under the friendly mask she had been wearing.

One thing was certain: her interest in the Inquisition was especially political, and she hoped to gain even more influence than she already had.

But the surprised weren’t finished just yet, and as they rode back into the city to finish up some of their business, they were accosted to yet another intriguing individual, who turned out to be none other than Grand Enchanter Fiona herself, leader of the mage rebellion. The woman, a stark contrast to their encounter with the Lord Seeker, enigmatically yet kindly invited the Inquisition to meet with the Rebellion, so that they could see firsthand their plight and possibly discuss an alliance.

With so many news building up on their shoulders, the party was much relieved to leave Val Royeaux behind that same night, eager to return to Haven and unburden themselves of the events of the past days.

 

One of Leliana’s ravens reached them with news the day they got to port on Ferelden’s soil; the bird carried two missives, one for her brother, and one for Callisto herself. The first was a quick note to ask about their status, the other was a little longer and it read:

 

_To C.S._

_I have news regarding your teacher, please come talk to me when you arrive._

The ominous content of the message managed only to put Callisto in a frenzy for the remnant of their journey back. Whenever she tried to think positive, elaborating explanations to remain optimist, the more rational part of her dragged her down to the ground: if the Sister wanted to talk to her face to face about it, then there was nothing more than bad news on the horizon. It was in that swinging mood, swaying from positive and cheerful and sour and horribly dour that she made it back to the village together with rest of the group that, after a first try to reassure her with little to no results, had left her to her own devices.

Callisto barely stopped long enough to hand her horse to a stable hand before she all but jumped down the saddle and made a bee-line to where Sister Leliana had set her command tent just outside the Chantry.

When she reached it, the Spymaster was busy with a couple of her scouts, and Calli hovered outside, moving her weight from one foot the other, waiting either to be noticed or for the meeting to come to an end. Sure, she was fretting and getting more anxious by the second, but she would never interrupt – her parents had thought her good manners, after all.

It was the Sister that caught her shifting behind her scouts, and after a couple more words, dismissed them. When her people had scurried away with their new assignments, the woman waved Callisto over.

“My scouts reported you were near – did you just arrive?” she asked, once the younger woman stopped beside her under the thick canopy of her open tent.

“Yes, a moment ago. I came here as soon as I dismounted” she admitted, scrolling her shoulders to try and regain some of her composure in front of the Sister.

Leliana remained silent for a moment before a letter appeared in her hands; when she passed it over, Calli’s breath hitched in her throat in anticipation.

“What is the meaning of this?” she asked, her voice barely higher than a rasped whisper as fear crept up her spine slowly.

Leliana hesitated for half a second, only adding to her anxiety;  for she had come to know of the Spymaster in the time she had spent in Haven so far, and the woman never hesitated in anything she did  - be it work related or not; watching her stalling for time was nerve wracking for Callisto. Whatever she was about to say, it was probably nothing good.

“My agents were able to locate Lord Sarkissian in the Free Marches; apparently he was making his way south already, probably as a results of the Conclave’s explosion. By all reports he was looking a bit battered, having encountered his share of resistance on the road, but when we found him he was alive. He has sent that letter, along with a weapon to be delivered to you in his stead; unfortunately, he wasn’t able to join us just yet, but has promised he will come to you eventually” Leliana concluded, reaching behind her for what Calli could see was a perfectly polished alabarda. Relief flooded her veins for the moment; she was sad to know Reyes wouldn’t be at her side for some time yet, but knowing him alive and well was more than she had been hoping for just a minute earlier. With another quick glance at the weapon, Calli shifted her focus on the letter she was still clasping in her hands.

It read:

 

> _Mi Ni_ _ñ_ _a,_
> 
> _As soon as I’ve heard of the terrible explosion at the Conclave, my heart went up in flames with pain- I was stricken with grief, Querida! It was several weeks after that, that the news of yours and your brother’s survival reached my ears;  you cannot imagine how relieved I felt, knowing that you were still alive and breathing, and possibly waiting for me! I set out for the south immediately, but I’m sad to say there have been…_ complications _, along the way. The conflict of the south has already spread northward, and it’s getting exponentially more difficult to move quickly and avoid getting caught up in the skirmishes that break out everywhere._
> 
> _Fortunately, it seems this_ Inquisition _of yours has found me before I could find you, that’s why I’m sending this missive with them to be delivered back to you in my stead; it saddens me to say this to you, but before I can join you in Haven, there are certain_ personal affairs _I have to take care first. If you ever have need of me, you can contact me through my middle man in Val Chevin, you know the one querida, you used to have a crush on her._
> 
> _Until I can see you again, stay safe mi querida – I love you._
> 
> _Siempre tuyo,_
> 
> _Reyes._

 

A small laugh bubbled out of Callisto as she finished reading the letter; even when writing, the man was incapable to let go of his flair for the dramatics. It was a reassuring sight, though, and Calli was deeply pleased to have received it. His writings mentioned some personal affair he needed to take care of, and judging by the fact that his Orlesian middle man had been mentioned, she had an inclination as to what _affairs_ exactly he was referencing. At the very least he would be mostly out of harm’s way where he was headed, and it was comfort enough for the moment.

With a last glance at it, Callisto folded the letter back up and carefully placed it in the pocket of her travelling coat.

“Thank you, Leliana. It means a lot that you actually spent time and resources on this” she finally said, smiling lovingly at the other woman, who had just been watching her silently as she read.

“It was of no consequence, I assure you” the Sister brushed it off, but Calli was grateful nonetheless. As things were now, their resources needed to be focused and not stretched for trivial tasks, and yet they had accommodated her request without protest – or at least she hoped so.

“Still, I appreciate it. If there’s anything you need of me, please do not hesitate to tell me; I’m actually eager to be of use in some way other than through my eyes” the girl insisted, bowing her head slightly in respect.

Leliana seemed amused by this display, but offered no reply, offering instead the weapon that still rested at her side.

“For now, please go get changed. We will be meeting in the War Room after you are all settled” she said instead, a small smile still hovering on her lips.

Callisto chuckled a bit, and took the halberd from the other woman’s hands.

“Yes, ma’am” she saluted, and quickly made her way to her cabin to get out of her dirty travelling clothes.

 

The meeting they eventually stumbled in later that day, was more of a recounting of their journey through Orlais than anything else. Despite the signs of an argument brewing between them all about how best to proceed from there, nothing much was really accomplished, and two hours later the Ambassador declared the encounter adjourned to the morning after, when all the parties would have had time to rest properly and think about what had been discussed.

Callisto, who had contributed little to the conversation since her mind was still preoccupied with thoughts of Reyes and whether or not send word to his middleman, now stood on the side of the room waiting for Dani to finish his talk with Cullen. When the two men bid each other farewell, the twins walked into the Chantry, now slowly filling with people trickling in for the evening service, and quickly made their exit from the building.

They were with a foot out the door already when a voice called out, catching Calli’s attention, mostly because it was an accent she had never heard in Haven before. When she turned to the source of the noise, she found a sight that sent a thrill down her spine.

A strapping young man was awkwardly standing just off the side of the Chantry entrance, trying – and clearly failing, to attract someone’s attention. She noted that his breastplate for bereft of any livery, marking him as either a mercenary or a freelancer, though she had to admit she was more interested in how well he seemed to fill his armour and how handsome his features were rather than his affiliations.  His hazel eyes brightened up the moment he realized he had caught her attention, and Calli stepped in his space with a smile on her lips.

“Hi there, can I help you?”she asked, all sugar, causing her brother who was now siding up to her to frown in mild disgust at her.

“Maker yes, I’ve been trying to speak to someone for some time now, but I seem to be unable to get anyone to listen to me” the soldier confessed, his voice more raspy than what she had expected it would be – not that she was complaining. A hand sneaked up to muss his chestnut hair in a gesture of either nervousness of annoyance, she wasn’t sure.

Calli chuckled amiably, not at all surprised; people around Haven tended to mistrust every face they didn’t recognise.

“Yeah, I can imagine that; not a lot of trust for stranger going around here” she explained, shrugging. “Me, though? I always like meeting new people. So tell me, what is it that you need to talk about with the Inquisition?” she went on, the flirtation in her voice not lost to her brother, who quietly snorted by her side. Yeah, if there was one thing Callisto really didn’t like doing, was meeting strangers, that was for sure! It was true that she felt a bit more at ease since they had first set foot in Haven, but Dani knew her behaviour was dictated by how handsome this stranger was, rather than a desire to meet new people; otherwise, he would have been the one doing the talking and not the opposite. Also, he wagered it was an excuse not to think about Reyes’ letter.

“I’m Lieutenant Aclassi with the mercenary company _The Bull’s Chargers_ , my Chief sent me with the information that Tevinter cultists are amassing on the shores of the Storm Coast. The Iron Bull offers the tip off free of charge, in exchange for the chance to join the Inquisition” the lieutenant explained, now fully catching even Dani’s interest. Brother and sister exchanged a quick silent look, and when Calli shrugged her shoulders, Dani nodded for her to go on.

“Aren’t you a lucky man, Lieutenant Aclassi, the Herald here is definitely interested in meeting your Chief” Calli replied slyly, motioning to her twin with a wave of her hand, watching with some amusement as the mercenary’s eyes went wide with recognition.

“Ah – it’s an honour Your Grace” the man hastened to say, stuck between a nod and a bow.

“Please – just call me Dani, I’m off duty for tonight”  Dani sighed, speaking up for the first time since the beginning of the exchange and waving his marked hand around dismissingly. Even with his thick gloves on, the green light shone through the leather, momentarily glaring when the mark passed near Calli’s eyes.

The Lieutenant watched it happen with his mouth slightly agape, reminding Calli for the umpteenth time that the Breach had left its mark on her as well. It was easier to forget than she’d thought it would be actually, unless she found herself face to face with a mirror or s stranger.

“I, uh – had heard rumours, but I didn’t really give them any credit” he said, a little befuddled but still a lot more composed than many other people that had been on the other side of that particular conversation.

“it’s no big deal” she said with a smile, “I’m Callisto, the mighty Herald’s twin sister, and the Inquisition’s worst-best kept secret” she finished cheekily with a small chuckle and a bow.

The Lieutenant joined her in her laugh, his shoulders visibly relaxed now that he had been eased in the introductions.

“I guess this means I own the Chief money – again. Ah, I should have learned by now never to bet against a qunari” he said, scratching the back of his shaved head in a self-deprecating gesture.

Dani snorted at his words, his interest in his offer growing by the minute.

“Why don’t you tell me more about these _tevinters_ on the Coast, Lieutenant, preferably over food and drinks yeah?” Dani asked, gesturing towards where the roof of the small tavern peeked out above Leliana’s command tent.

“You can call me Krem, your Grace, and that would be great” the other man acquiesced with a grateful nod.

“Good, this way then”.

They made their way towards the tavern quickly, and sure enough a table towards the back was free and waiting just for them. The atmosphere was quiet still, mostly because the Commander hadn’t dismissed the bulk of his recruits and Varric was still nowhere to be seen at such an early hour, but what little animation there was Calli noticed it was due to Sera just hanging out with some of the workers. As soon as they walked in and she got a look at them and their new friend, Sera jumped ship and plopped down at their table with her food and drink without so much as a hello. No one minded one bit, especially the twins; Callisto liked the spontaneous way Sera seemed to live her life, and Dani – even if he wouldn’t admit it out loud – couldn’t avoid snorting at her jokes or her pranks.

“Hey fancy pants, who’s the new guy?” Sera asked as she plopped down in the empty chair next to Calli, directly in front of her brother, her bowl of stew dangerously swaying left and right as she uncaringly threw it down on the table.

“Sera, this is Krem, a Lieutenant with the mercenary company ‘Bull’s Chargers’, Krem this is Sera” Dani made the honours of the introductions, flagging down Flissa to order them all some warm food and a round of drinks.

“You with the big Qunari, right? Heard of ‘im in Val Royeaux, he got reputation there” Sera declared with a wink, clearly implying _something_ with her statement that went beyond their professional reputation with the nobles.

“The Chief’s a ladies’ man, I cannot deny that” Krem replied with a fond chuckle, “but he knows what he’s doing. We have gotten contracts from all over Orlais, and we have the references to back our reputation. If you come on the Coast, you’ll see that we are worth your time” he went on with conviction, looking towards Dani as he said so.

“I’m interested, I can tell you that. Tomorrow morning, if you would, we’ll meet with our advisors at first light and see what they have to say about it” Dani offered back, nodding his thanks to Flissa and another serving girl as they deposited their food and drinks on the table.

“There will be no objections, I’m sure. Right now the Inquisition is in need of skilled hands, and surprisingly we apparently don’t lack the funds to afford them” Calli threw in her two coppers with the knowledge she had acquired during the weeks spent attending meetings while Dani was in the Hinterlands.

“In the mean time, we can find a place for you to sleep in tonight, and tomorrow if everything goes well you can travel back to your Chief with a reply, and possibly our scouts accompanying you as well, to set up a forward camp and see if we can make anything out of the region while we are there” Dani said, putting the matter to rest for the moment.

“I’m very grateful, Your Grace – the rumours don’t make your kindness justice”  Krem breathed out, incredibly surprised at how his day had turned out.

At his words, Calli let out and undignified snort, shoving a spoonful of stew in her mouth to stifle the full blown out laugh.

“I’ve never been offended about the lack of rumours about my person before, but now I kind of am” she said instead, waving her spoon in the air.

“You can always go and make up some, yeah? Spook a few recruits with those glowy eyes of yours and ya got nice little rumour goin’ around!” Sera jumped in, always ready to propose and perpetrate some mischief.

Calli laughed out loud this time, taking note of the suggestion.

“Yes, maybe I should. Perhaps I’ll just stand in Cullen’s tent, waiting for him in the dark! That’d be a perfect revenge for when he rattled me out to Leliana when I wanted to go and see the Breach” she said, mischief already glittering in her eyes as she spoke. She would never do it, obviously, but her brother did not realize she was merely joking, and immediately jumped up in defence of poor Cullen.

“The Commander - ” he started, but Calli held up her hands before he could go any further with his reprimand.

“Is safe from me, brother. I was merely joking; besides, if I ever attempted such a thing, I’d end up with his sword through me before he could even be spooked” she explained, pacifying her twin.

As it turned out, her dear brother had taken somewhat of a shine on the Commander, and Callisto was entirely sure it was only because Dani looked up to him as a man; sometimes, she caught her brother just staring at him over the War Table when the Commander was talking and not looking up at them. There was probably something more there, but Calli wouldn’t pry – if Dani wanted to share his thoughts with her, he would do so when and if he was ready.

“I bet that’s not the only pointy thing of his you’d like to have inside of you” Sera jumped in, elbowing her in the stomach as she giggled madly at her own clever quip.

The groan that left Dani’s lips was almost funnier than Sera’s little dirty joke.

“He is a handsome man, if he ever was inclined to show me how he looks under all those armour, I admit I wouldn’t turn him down” Calli replied with a shrug, throwing a look at her brother to gauge whatever reaction showed up on his face. Sadly for her, he was just grimacing and nothing more.

“Please, that’s enough. I doubt Krem is interested in the topic, so let us bring the conversation back on topic, shall we?” Maybe he wasn’t showing a reaction on his face, but Dani’s words were enough to give away his annoyance as he tried to steer the conversation away from the rabbit hole Calli was trying to jump into.

In the end, though, the topic of _Cullen’s pointy stuffs_ was never touched again. And the group finished their dinner while discussing business.

After supper and drinks were done, both twins dismissed themselves, but not before guiding Krem to the nearest hut with available beds so that he could rest out of the cold for the night. They were to reconvene in the early morning for a briefing with the Council – who Dani made sure was informed of the meeting, before the Lieutenant would leave, hopefully accompanied by their own scouts as  well.


	6. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Callisto weasels her way into going to meet the Chargers; she's not disappointed when she meets them and their Captain.

Morning came, and the Council met the twins – joined by Krem, for their impromptu meeting. It took decisively little to no time before the agreement to the expedition was given, meaning the good Lieutenant was back on the road before the sun was even fully out in the sky. A handful of scouts, headed by Harding, joined him in his journey back to settle the forward camp, while the Council remained in session to plan out further details and fill out the Herald’s schedule before his departure.

“I have heard a great many things about The Iron Bull and his company, I’m confident they will prove a useful addition to our resources” Josephine said once the Lieutenant had left, as a further reassurance of their collective decision.

“We still have to see whether the Herald will recruit them or not, but the help would be welcome indeed” Leliana pointed out, followed by a nod from Cullen.

From all point of view, it seemed that the Council was giving Dani the go ahead, a rare sight if Calli had anything to say; it usually took the lot of them at least a couple head-butting sessions to so readily agree on anything, after all.

“Krem did give us somewhat of an insight on his chief, and what I heard sounded pretty good to me. This looks more like a show off on their part than a formality” Dani replied with a chuckle. “Still, I’m eager to see what they have to offer; I won’t even haggle on the price if it’s a good performance” he added, winking towards the Ambassador.

Josephine shook her head at him, barely muffling a laugh under her breath.

“Please do not haggle, I’m sure we can afford whatever price they put forward” she told him diplomatically, though a smile was painted on her lovely lips.

Callisto watched the whole conversation silently from her spot between her brother and the Ambassador, taking note of the general cheerful mood of the morning while she quickly plotted her move. If there ever was a day to pitch her next venture outside the gates of the village, she could bet on her own life that was _the one_.

“Ok, I promise I won’t” Dani chuckled, moving the conversation forward. “So, I thought we could leave in two days, to give us a bit more time to rest and the Scouts time to map out the area. And if both Madame Vivienne and Sera are agreeable to it, I will bring them with me and Cassandra to have a field test with them.”

No one had any objections to the plan, and Calli was sure she even saw Cullen looking rather pleased at Dani taking the lead; the meeting was then adjourned to a later hour in the day for any update and planning of details – and that was when Callisto sprung into action, coughing lightly in her fist to get their attention.

“Actually, before we all go, I was wondering if, by any chance, you wouldn’t mind me tagging along this time as well?” she asked neutrally, trying to keep her hopes at bay and away from showing too much through her voice.

Dani immediately glared at her, refusal ready on his tongue quicker than lightning on a mage’s fingertips, but Calli had, by now, mastered the art to be quicker than her brother when arguing one of her plans (or anything, really), and raised both her hands in front of herself, biding him to let her finish her pitch before eventually shutting her down.

“I know I’m still not fit to get into the field properly, but I thought my experience could come in handy in dealing with The Iron Bull and his company. I was thinking I could help you with any negotiations that could arise and then, possibly, I’d travel back with the mercenaries and help them sat up at Haven? I swear I will stay well away from any form of fighting – bar the verbal kind, probably” she blurted out rather quickly to avoid being interrupted at any given pause she might have taken.

This was the first real finicky request she was making of them, but she had confidence she had played her cards  right with the whole Council; they shouldn’t have had any reason to mistrust her words. Dani, of course, was a whole other matter; he knew the disruptive power that followed his twin wherever she went, as well as how well she could spin a tale when it fancied her interest. His natural mistrust in her speeches, though, was somehow abated by her basically impeccable behaviour both during his absence and during their trip to Orlais… After a minute of solid silence on his part, he decided to give his sister the benefit of the doubt. He had, after all, promised he would not shut Calli out – if she wanted part in this Inquisition, she was well and able to pull her own weight.

“If everyone agrees, I’m inclined to have you along for the ride” he finally told her, almost unable to bite down a chuckle when her hopeful, pleading, and to him _blatantly fake_ gaze then moved to the three Advisors.

Cullen was the first to relent as it was no secret that he had taken a liking to Callisto in the weeks she had been training under his guidance.

“Cassandra did report a marked improvement in her training…” he trailed off, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

Josephine was next in giving her agreement.

“I’m sure your experience in negotiating will be useful even in the field, and I won’t say no to some work taken off my hands – granted that you would double check with me once the deal has been accorded upon” the Ambassador  supplied graciously, making a note on her board as she went.

Leliana was the only one left for Calli to obtain a full permission, but a quick glance in the Spymaster’s direction revealed that the woman had no oppositions to Callisto’s proposal.

“If she can travel back to Haven with the company, it would go a long way to earning their trust; I say we let her go” she declared, nodding once towards Calli as she said so.

At this point, Callisto was literally _beaming_ at the lot of them, clearly satisfied that her pitch had worked so well on all fronts; she gave herself a mental pat on the shoulder, and thanked them all with a small bow.

“Make sure to get properly outfitted before you leave, you are going to need some kind of protection on the read” Cullen made sure to add before they all moved to leave the War Room and go about their business.

The Council finally dispersed to their own duties, and the twins followed behind them, making for the exit of the village where the forge was situated.

“I’m sure Harrit has some spare leathers laying around that could fit you” Dani said as they walked down the steps and rounded to the sound of the anvil.

“I’m sure he does, but if he’s as particular about giving me armour as he was about making me a weapon, I’m not certain I’ll be ready to leave any time soon” Calli rebuked, grimacing a bit as she remembered Harrit’s face when she’d asked him if he could make her a halberd; at first he had looked like the sole suggestion of such an exotic weapon could light him on fire, but then it somehow became a question of professional pride to fashion her a weapon worth its salt.

Dani chuckled at her words, but walked into the forge instead of giving her a reply. As imagined, Harrit was working away at some blanks, but immediately looked up to them when he heard them approach.

“How may I help you, Herald?” he asked, not stopping his work as he talked; the blank needed to be shaped properly, otherwise it would be ruined .

“My dear sister here needs some gear, she’ll be coming with to the Storm Coast” Dani announced, nodding towards where Calli was standing next to him, eyes roaming around the forge with curiosity.

“Going into the field, uh Lass? Aye, I’ve got some spares that should fit her, but we’ll make you somethin’ proper when you come back” the smith replied, some of his gruffness disappearing in his regard for Callisto, who smiled back sweetly at the man to show her appreciation. Dani was always surprised at how easily his twin weaselled her way into everyone’s graces everywhere she went, especially when half the times she interacted with people she was an awkward mess.

“Thank you, that’d be perfect! Once I’m properly outfitted our Herald here will have less worries about letting me near anything remotely dangerous” Calli replied cheekily, winking at Harrit as Dani pinched in nose in clear disapproval of her wily ways.

“Aye, you’ll be as safe as possible lass. Now scram, I’ll have the gear delivered before the end of the day, I don’t need to take your measures” he said gruffly, shooing them both out of his workshop.

True to his word, the leathers – which included boots and gloves as well, arrived on her doorstep that same afternoon. Subsequently, Calli spent the rest of the day acquainting herself with the feel of the armour on her body going through the motions of her training. It was a weird fit, and she was glad it wasn’t going to be a permanent one, but she felt comfortable enough to see herself wear the gear on a daily basis.

That night and the following day went by relatively quickly in the middle of all the preparations for their journey that, even if it wouldn’t bring them very far, could last several weeks nonetheless; at least for the majority of them.

Nevertheless, Callisto was very excited to mount her own horse and march off beside her brother and the other ladies, ready to commit to memory – and paper, every detail of the expedition.

It took the group a good six days of hard riding to reach the Coast, and the rain marked a good half of their journey. By the time the forward camp came into view on the edge of a steep incline, Dani, Callisto, and Sera were looking thoroughly miserable, like the city rats that they were; on the other hand, Cassandra looked generally more annoyed at the inconvenience of rain rather than anything else, possessing the discipline to withstand it but not the patience to make it go unnoticed, while Vivienne simply shrugged the rain right off of her regal attire with a small sustained barrier that made Calli regret the lack of magic in her family tree.

When they finally reached the camp, they were greeted by Scout Harding; the woman was sporting a likewise grim expression, and welcomed them with as much enthusiasm as such dreary place could ever inspire.

“We settled up here to keep an eye on your Mercenaries down below on the beach” Harding explained once she had led the group under a massive tree that overlooked the ground below and offered a bit of a reprise from the beating rain. “They seem pretty much unaffected by our presence, but I wager they know you’re here already. If I were you I’d hurry down there before the action starts, Your Grace, they looked pretty eager to sink their teeth in those Tevinters; we can discuss the rest once you’re done” the woman said at last, displaying exactly why she was Leliana best Scout. Calli was impressed , and mentally made a note to get to know the dwarf if they ever had the time. For the moment, though, Dani was clearly eager to set his eyes on the action going down below.

“Let’s go then, before we miss the show Lieutenant Aclassi promised us” he announced, already sprinting towards where the grovel path continued over the camp and down the incline.

He got halfway down before he remembered that Callisto was still trailing behind them, her eyes shining with the same excitement of a kid about to slip past their parents to steal all the chocolate. The moment their eyes met, some of that excitement melted away as Dani frowned at her.

“You promised” he just said pointedly, to which Calli shrugged her shoulders.

“I know, I’ll stay well away. I swear” she reassured him, slipping to the back of the group as she said so.

Her brother, who never really trusted her to keep her word and worried the fight could as easily come to her instead, turned to Vivienne as added security.

“Could you please keep an eye on her?” he asked the mage, causing all traces of amusement to immediately disappear from his twin’s face.

“Don’t worry darling, she’ll be fine” Lady Vivienne assured him gracefully, managing to deepen the scowl that had been dug in Calli’s features.

Whatever addition his sister could have made to the discussion, was drowned by the noise of steel on steel and an impressive battle-cry – it was the signal that the Chargers had begun their demonstration for the Inquisition. Dani did not waste anymore time, and with a resolute nod to Calli, he unsheathed his weapon and shield and rushed towards the fray, followed soon after by the three ladies and, after a fashion, Callisto and her scowl.

Calli watched her brother rush ahead, and then trailed behind at a distance to get a good enough visual over the skirmish. Despite being ways off from the fighting, even way behind both mage and archer, she still felt the second Vivienne cast a barrier over her; mainly because the rain was suddenly jumping off of her instead of soaking through her clothes and hair. Trying not to give it too much grief, she scanned the field with a quick glance, attempting to guess who amongst the fighters were the remaining members of the Chargers that she had yet to meet; the task revealed itself quite easy when she noticed that the Tevinters were, weirdly enough, wearing some sort of uniform that made them immediately recognisable against the mismatch of armours of the mercenaries fighting and, quite honestly, _destroying_ them.

At some point she was sure she caught sight of the same armour Lieutenant Aclassi had been wearing, but her attention was diverted when a massive figure wielding a giant battle axe as if it weighted nothing and sporting an impressive pair of horns crossed her visual.

 _That_ , without any doubts, had to be the Company Captain; the Iron Bull.

Callisto was impressed, other than painstakingly intrigued, by his size; she had met qunari before, but none quite as big as the one towering over the cultists in front of her very eyes.

To Dani disappointment, the skirmish was finished soon after he had joined it; on the other hand, though, it had been long enough for him to decide that the Chargers were definitely an investment worth making.

Callisto started walking towards her brother the moment she was sure the last of the Tevinters was dead, just in time to see the Iron Bull look about himself with pride beaming out of his one good eye; clearly, he was greatly satisfied by his men’s work.

“Chargers! Stand down!” the man bellowed, rallying his people to a stop as the Herald himself sheathed his sword.

Before Dani could open his mouth for an introduction, Callisto fell into step with him, unscathed but with a renewed glimmer of curiosity on her face.

“Impressive display” she commented, loud enough to attract the mercenary’s attention as they stopped in front of him.

“It was, wasn’t it” the qunari chuckled, turning his full focus on the twins. His good eye twinkled with interest as he took the pair in; that they were blood related, it was painfully obvious, they shared the same features across their faces. Maybe they were a bit sharper on the brother, but not even the glowing green eyes on the sister could take away the uncanny resemblance between the two.

“I’m glad we took the time to come out here, the Chargers seem an excellent company” Dani finally jumped in the conversation, offering his opinion. He was in no way an expert on how a mercenary company was supposed to work, but he had pretty good enough understanding on how a disciplined group of people could work well together.

“So am I! But come, let’s discuss business with a drink in our hands” the Iron Bull prompted, guiding both of them a ways off were the Chargers had set up camp before the skirmish. At a distance, Cassandra followed them with her eyes, ready to intervene in case the conversation suddenly went south.

Callisto already liked how the man conducted negotiations, but she wouldn’t be fooled in accepting disadvantageous terms just because he was good at making people feel comfortable in an unknown environment.

They sat around the makeshift camp, brother and sister right next to each other as the Iron Bull sat directly in front of them on a crate that had to be the sturdiest in the world not to break under his weight.

“Here, have something to warm yourselves, you really look like you need it” the qunari joked as he reached out to them with an open flask.

Dani promptly declined, not one to drink on the job – or ever, really, but Calli gladly accepted the flask with a smile. Vivienne’s barrier had already died out, and the quick reprieve from the chilly rain was subsequently  gone, leaving her with a renewed need to warm herself up. She didn’t even care about the stink eye her brother gave her for accepting, as usual disapproving of her habits – especially when it came to day drinking; too bad he didn’t get why she was doing it, she couldn’t really explain out loud anyway.

“Don’t look at me, I’m just here to talk since that’s all I’m allowed to do” she said instead with a shrug, throwing back the flask after the briefest of smells to determine what she was getting herself into. Thick honeyed mead slid down her throat, startling her when she realized that the taste was more than familiar – it was the same mead Reyes always seemed to prefer.

Her eyes glazed over for a second, but by the time she had swallowed her drink and passed it back, the nostalgia was gone.

“If you’re bringing your supplier with you, you’re hired” Callisto joked as the Bull took the preferred drink back, eliciting a deep belly laugh from him.

“If I’d known, I would have sent a cask along with Krem” he replied, still laughing.

As if summoned Lieutenant Aclassi appeared to his Chief’s side, ready to report the outcome of the skirmish.

“How did we do?” the Bull asked as soon as Krem stepped in their circle.

“A couple wounded, no dead. Throat cutters are done, no survivors” he diligently reported, much to his Chief’s delight at his words. After that, he offered a polite nod to the twins as well, acknowledging their presence with a smile.

“Have them check again, then get yourselves a drink; you’ve earned it.”

Krem briefly acknowledged the Chief’s words before walking off to the rest of the Chargers, leaving the three of them alone once more.

“So, you’ve seen what the Chargers can do; we’re expensive, but definitely worth it” the Iron Bull finally got to business, especially gaining Callisto’s undivided attention. “There’s one more thing you should know though; might interest you, might piss you off” he went on, shrugging his massive shoulders as she said so. The twins immediately exchanged a wary look, but stayed silent otherwise, bidding the qunari to continue. Whatever he had to add, at the very least he was being forthcoming about it.

“Ever heard of the Ben-Hassrath?” the Iron Bull asked, sending Callisto’s head into sudden overdrive as she quickly tried to recollect all the knowledge she had ever acquired about Qunari institutions.

Even Dani knew something about it, as many in Antiva were somewhat familiar with the Qun and its presence in the neighbourhood.

“They’re something akin to a city guard, right?” Dani asked, as matter of fact, looking to Callisto rather than Bull to confirm his words. The sour expression on his sister’s face quickly told him there was more to it than that.

“Among _other_ things” Calli followed up after her brother, “like spies, for example” she supplied; now she was even more invested in this little talk of theirs. If the Iron Bull was suggesting what she thought he was implying, then the stakes had just been set a dozen notches higher.

The qunari gave her a quick once over as she corrected her brother; clearly he had underestimated the wrong twin.

“Yeah, that’s them” he said, pausing for a bit. “Or, well – _us_ ”.

Silence fell between them as he gave the twins the time to properly absorb the information he had just relayed on their heads; clearly, neither of them had ever been in a position of dealing with such a situation, but The Bull had his orders and would not jeopardize them just to gain the upper hand in these negotiations.

“Let me get this straight; you’re a spy and you just – _told us_?” Dani asked, quite incredulous about the turn around. He was now very glad he had let Callisto join him in this endeavour, for between them she was the one used to deal with plot twist of this size; though he was starting to gather some experience, given recent events.

“I’ve been ordered to join the Inquisition and keep an eye on this whole ‘hole in the sky’ situation, I thought it was best to be up front about it. Besides, you don’t keep secrets from something called _The Inquisition_ ” the Iron Bull replied quite earnestly, baffling once more the Herald into silence.

“What’s your take?”

Callisto took a deep breath, which was released in a weary chuckle at her twin’s question. In truth, she was thinking too many things, but one was clearer amongst all others.

“I say we hire the Chargers. They are an excellent company, and as the Inquisition is now, they will be a great asset to have. Whatever concerns the Council might have about employing a qunari spy, I’m pretty sure Leliana can handle them” Calli replied pragmatically. In all probability, the Spymaster was already aware of the qunari identity and had agreed to Callisto’s presence on the mission for that reason especially; if she had learned anything about the Nightingale, it was that she was _always_ one step ahead of everybody else.

“Every information I get from my contacts I will share with the Inquisition, and your Spymaster will have veto authority on any report that I pen to my superiors” The Iron Bull explained, and something in his phrasing tipped Callisto off; it almost sounded as if he already had been in contact with Leliana beforehand.

“Sounds good to me” Calli shrugged, not finding any faults in his reasons – it was kind of naïve to think that an organization such as the one they were now part of would remain immune to the attention of foreign powers, even one as far removed as the Qun.

“Well, then I say our work here is done; the Chargers will officially be hired by the Inquisition” Dani said, wrapping up the conversation. It had been an interesting encounter, for sure, but he had been idle for far too long already, and there was plenty to be done still. “If you don’t mind, Callisto will travel back to Haven with you and help finalise the details of your contract” he then added, reaching out with his right hand to close the deal.

Bull didn’t hesitate; he cheerfully shook the preferred hand and declared his personal services to both of them in addition of his company.

From there the group lingered on the shores just long enough to see the Chargers dismantle their camp and ready themselves for the journey south and into the Frostbacks.

Dani made sure to remind Callisto to stay out of trouble and especially far away from any rift that they might stumble upon, but graciously abstained from giving the same instructions to the Iron Bull, conscious that there was just so far he could go before Calli would seriously hold a grudge against him.

On her part, Callisto was equally excited to make the journey back with the Chargers and disappointed that she couldn’t convince her brother to let her stay with him instead.

But despite her reservations, that very afternoon she was marching alongside the Chargers; her horse was now quietly huffing as it had to pull the cart carrying their supplies, and she was quite tiredly walking in their midst.

By the time they stopped to set camp, Callisto had made the acquaintance of the whole company, with the exception of a few units that, by the Iron Bull’s word, were currently elsewhere finishing up on another contract.

Beside Krem, who was the de-facto Lieutenant to the Iron Bull, she met Stitches, the pragmatic healer, Rocky, the explosions expert who was quite explosive himself, Skinner, who barely spared a word and an icy glare her way, Grimm, who’s silence was enigmatic enough to titillate Callisto’s taste for mysteries, and Dalish, the aptly nicknamed mage that would deny her magic with a shrug and an explanation about _dalish archery_.

Other than what Callisto had gathered were the main members of the company, another six people made up the entirety of the Chargers, which remained a small unit by any standard.

From their interactions, she decided that they were all pretty cool with her presence; most seemed even eager to work for the only people who were actually trying to do something to bring an end to the madness that was the Breach, but what most intrigued Callisto was trying to figure out exactly what kind of person the Iron Bull was. Given his honesty with Dani and her regarding his _real_ profession, she was confident enough that at least the key members of his company were also aware of his position within the Qun; but was he genuine, in his interest in the Inquisition? Or, most importantly, were his orders truly to just _observe_ and nothing more? And would that ever change in the future? The last thing she wanted was to place a potential threat near herself and her brother.

What she couldn’t quite guess though, was that The Iron Bull was as curious about her circumstances as she was his.

The intel he had received prior to his contacting the Inquisition spoke of two people being able to close the rifts, but none had mentioned how easily unnerving her mark was compared to her brother’s. While the green light wasn’t completely masked by the man’s glove, he wasn’t sure anything could have prepared him for _her_ glowing green eyes, almost entirely consumed by the mark they bore; not even Krem’s report made justice to the subtle shiver of discomfort he felt every time her eyes landed on him.

However unnerved he felt, though, The Iron Bull did not want to pass up the opportunity to glimpse behind the Inquisition’s mechanics, and getting the information through Callisto seemed the easier between the options; especially because she was close at hand, a position she herself had chosen to occupy, if he had understood it right.

 

That night, Callisto was definitely relieved when they finally stopped to make camp; to say she was tired would have been an understatement, but still she helped with the tents and the food while Dalish easily stoked the fire with her mystic _dalish archery_.

After the meal had been consumed with a hearty amount of both laughter and alcohol (two things that seemed to never lack amongst the chargers), and a watch had been decided, Callisto pushed back the sleepiness in her bones to make sure the events of the day were properly recorded on paper.

She was sitting in the circle of firelight, her quill scratching rhythmically on the parchment as she noted her impressions of the Chargers, and it was only when the Bull spoke up that she realized he had taken a seat nearby and was watching her work.

“Come again?” she asked, caught off guard by the question that she had completely missed, more concerned by his sudden appearance rather than the words that left his mouth.

“I asked what your deal is” he repeated with a small snort, though she could clearly see even in the dim light of the fire that his eye was not sharing the carefully constructed humour in his voice.

As casually as she could manage, Calli made a point of shuffling her papers in a neat pile, gently dropping them next to her on the leather folder they had been previously extracted from, making sure they were out of sight.

“Depends who you ask, really” she then replied, evasively. She might not have been a trained spy of the Qun, but she had least had enough presence of mind to know when someone was fishing for information.

“I’m asking you, am I not?” was his obvious and expected follow-up.

Callisto smiled at him, her eyes brightly reflecting the campfire light like two green beacons in the darkness.

“I’m sure you have inferred a lot about me and my _deal_ while conversing with my brother” she told him, then, but did not shy away from then giving him a proper answer. “At any rate, if I have to be truthful, I’m not sure what my deal is, exactly. I’m still trying to figure out how to best be useful to the Inquisition” she finally said with a little shrug, returning the quill she was still holding to its proper case, away with the ink.

The Iron Bull digested her words quickly, building up the picture he had begun of the elusive twin sister of the Herald of Andraste. The Inquisition had done a quick job at keeping her identity – if not her existence – a secret. His sources had spoken of a second person with the ability of closing rifts, but further than that nobody had known who this person was and why they weren’t worshipped the same way the Herald was.

But now that he had met both brother and sister, maybe he understood why his fame had spread and hers remained in quiet anonymity.

“Your brother said you were to help with setting us up in Haven, is that what you usually do?” he asked, trying to move forward in his search for information.

“Ha! No, this is the first time, but I have a fair amount of experience when it comes to setting prices and negotiating for a service. That’s what I _used_ to do, back home” Callisto explained, giving away the info freely. It wasn’t that big of a mystery what her family business was, and certainly it wouldn’t take a trained spy that much effort to find out any other way.

“So you’re a merchant?”

Callisto snorted; her parents would have loved to hear her reply that she was, but the truth was a little bit more colourful than that.

“My family are, yes. I like to think of myself as something a bit more on the lines of an entrepreneur with a penchant for learning things” she replied with a chuckle. “My main job was to find clients and set up contracts, that’s why the Council agreed for me to travel with you” she told him, watching him closely to catch any signs of a reaction. She was still not used to the amount of details her eyes were now able to process, but the headaches she experienced because of it were at least a familiar companion, even though they now occurred for the exact opposite reason than before.

“I see” the Bull said with a small nod, his attention moving from her person to where her weapon was indly laying, propped up next to her tent. “Nice piece” he offered then, dragging the conversation on to the next topic he wanted to discuss.

For the moment, it seemed Callisto was happy enough to play his game, but it didn’t go unnoticed that her answers were all kind of shallow.  

Calli craned her neck to look back at her alabarda, very wicked looking as it reflected the campfire’s light on its blade.

“It is, but sadly it has yet to see action” she commented nonchalantly; apparently, though, the note of annoyance in her voice wasn’t as well masked as she had thought.

“A pity, it looks like it could do some damage” he replied off-headedly, looking as if he wanted to examine the weapon up close. “Is your brother always that paranoid about you getting into danger? I noticed you didn’t join in the skirmish on the beach” he went on, decidedly straying off of safe waters to just try and bite at the core of the uncomfortable questions.

Obviously, he had touched a sensitive topic, for Callisto immediately and quite visibly tensed up at his query, losing that nonchalant and light air she had kept up for the entirety of their conversation up to that moment.

On her part, Callisto knew that sooner or later the qunari’s interest would have shifted to the dynamic between Dani and herself.  Well, there wasn’t much she could do to avoid the topic – save, maybe, completely ignoring the question and retiring to her tent. But she pressed ahead, interested into gathering whatever insight she could from his as he was from her.

“Dani is just looking out for me; mind you, I don’t appreciate his attitude but I understand where he comes from. Between the two of us, he’s the one that had weapon training since he was a child, while I just started recently. Add to that my penchant for getting into all sorts of trouble, and you’ll understand why he acts the way he does. Plus, it was kind of my fault we got into this whole mess in the first place” Callisto explained, her eyes focused on the Iron Bull as she talked to him, ready to register to memory every and any reaction her words would elicit.

Sadly for her, Bull had years of training and experience on her, and hardly ever let his reactions slip to the surface; unless, of course, he wanted them to show.

“Is that so” he just said, chuckling a bit to put her at ease and, maybe, try and pry another story out of her while he was at it.

Callisto was just about to come out and regale him with the story of how it had been her idea to travel to Conclave in the first place, but a glint in his good eye that she caught just because she had been looking for it, made her rethink her decision.

Instead, she gathered up her writing materials and stood up, quite ready to retire to her tent.

“Tell you what big guy, buy me dinner when we get to Haven and maybe I’ll tell you some of my stories” she said with a smirk, biding him good night as she went.

“Will do” the Bull called back, shamelessly checking her out as she walked away and then ducked inside her tent. He had to say, while her glowing eyes were definitely unnerving to look at, he didn’t mid her back side at all.


	7. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Calli and the Chargers run into a bit of a problem that needs to be taken care of...

It turned out, after a week and a half of travel spent in relative peace amongst the Chargers, that however far Callisto tried to stay from any form of danger, the danger was not as inclined to stay away from her in turn.

It happened maybe three days out from Haven, during a relatively quiet afternoon of walking in the chilly air; they were travelling on the beaten path, making good time despite the lacking of horses and a cart they were pulling along, when suddenly Callisto froze up, her eyes almost rolling to the back of her skull as a headache exploded inside her head, screaming bloody murder.

The whole company immediately stopped around her as Stitches hurried to her side, trying to ascertain the sudden cause of her discomfort.

“Talk to me lass, what’s wrong?” he asked, but Callisto was too overwhelmed to form even a simple sentence; her head was quickly filling up with hundreds of voices, each screaming for either help or release. Somewhere in the back of her consciousness, she remembered the one other occasion this had happened, but while she mustered the strength to open her mouth and voice her concerns, a loud explosion diverted everybody’s attention. A few hundred meters ahead of them, right in the middle of the road, a rift tore open the veil, angrily bleeding the fade in front of their eyes.

Callisto wanted to vomit; the headache was becoming unbearable by the second, and the screams inside her own head made her feel as if she was about to implode.

“Dispel-” she forced out, gripping stitches like a lifeline. “Need – to – dispel!” she tried again, every word out of her mouth heavier than a mountain to spell.

The shock of the whole situation passed over the Chargers very quickly, and the company once more demonstrated their worth as they immediately set to action.

“Dalish, can you dispel whatever influence she’s under?!” Calli heard Bull ask with a note of urgency in his voice.

“I think so, yes!” the mage replied quickly, the worry making her accent stronger as she spoke.

“Then do it! Everybody else – make sure nothing that comes out of that thing gets too close” Bull ordered, and a moment later the Chargers had formed a line between Calli, Bull, Dalish, and the rift, weapons ready to fend off whatever could come out of the tear.

In the mean time, the elven mage didn’t waste any more time casting the spell, muttering some words under her breath while she did so, a hand imposed over Callisto’s hunched figure in front of her, who in turn was ready to pass out and call it a day.

But as she had experienced before, once the unfamiliar coolness of the elf’s magic washed through her, she was freed of the influence of the rift and could breathe again. Her vision took a second to stop swimming, but eventually she managed to straighten herself back up – almost not too worse for wear; _almost_ being the key word.

“Thanks...” she droned, rolling the stiffness out of her muscles that had been spasming until a moment ago.

“You okay?” Her eyes followed Bull’s voice to his face, and there she could see worry etched in the frown between his brows – maybe one of the few genuine emotions she had been able to detect since they had met each other. Not that she could blame him; hard to keep a job if after only two weeks you had to report that the sister of your Boss died on your watch.

“Kind of; I’m afraid there are some undesired side effects that come with the nifty ability of closing the rifts...” she trailed off, the humour falling flat even to her own ears. As she said so, her attention moved past the qunari’s shoulder and the line of the Chargers to focus on the still un-triggered opening pulsing in mid air.

Sadly there was no way they could just go around; they were in the middle of a thick forest, and that was the only road around. Maybe, if they hadn’t had the cart and the horse with them, they could have just gone through the trees, but they couldn’t afford to leave their equipment behind. That meant that they were going to need to trigger it and fight through the demons before Calli could get close enough to seal it...

“Have you done this before?” Bull asked. The question was a legitimate one, of course, especially because by now he had gathered enough information about her and her exploits within the Inquisition to know there was no mention of her interactions with rifts.

“Once, surrounded by a bunch of Templars” she replied honestly, thinking back on how that particular venture had concluded itself. “But if you can take care of the demons, I should be able to close it” she went on, leaving out that she had no precise idea on how to do that, exactly.

 “Sounds good to me” Bull agreed, scrolling his shoulders in anticipation as he took his massive axe in both hands, readying himself for the fight ahead. “But are you sure you don’t wanna help? This would be the perfect time to test your skills, while your brother is not here to keep you away” he told her before he could step away, a teasing grin pulling at his lips. The bastard was goading her on, and Callisto was extremely tempted to agree with him.

He waited for an answer for a split second, and when it didn’t come, he turned towards his men and gave them the order to move in closer; Calli bit the inside of her check as she watched the group trigger the rift, and waited impatiently to see its sickly green branches shift to spawn the demons and corrupted spirits lingering just beyond its confines.

A handful of tense seconds later, a wave of shades materialized between the rift and the Chargers, and the mercenaries lost no time in diving into the fray, hacking and blasting at the dripping black demons.

Callisto watched with trepidation and fascination as they methodically fell one right after the other, all the while battling with the itch in her hands that wanted her to pick up her weapon and join in, to finally put into action all the hours spent training, and the fear of possibly falling again under the rift’s influence.

One breath later, and the first wave had efficiently been dispatched; the Chargers seemed to have breezed through the fight, barely unfazed by the challenge that the rift presented them.

This seemed to infuse Calli with a confidence she had lacked up to that point, and as the path in front of her once more bubbled with the green energy of the fade summoning more demons, she grabbed her weapon from where it rested on her back and jogged to join the line of fighters waiting for the oncoming wave. Bull just gave her a subtle nod when he saw her, and she replied by squaring her shoulders and widening her stance, readying herself.

It didn’t take longer after that for the demons to pull through, and in a matter of seconds Callisto found herself face to face with another Shade. The demon honed in on her the moment it was spawned, and quickly lunged for her with its wickedly sharp claws, which Calli swiftly blocked with the shaft of the halberd before kicking the demon back with her boot. As the shade stumbled, she promptly readjusted the halberd stance and stabbed forward; the length of the weapon gave her substantial reach over the demon, and the blade sank into the tar like skin of the creature almost in its entirety. Quickly following that move, Calli grunted with fatigue as she forced the blade to go up, slicing through its body until it came out in between the shoulder and the neck, almost severing the arm right off. The shade hissed at her, but other than that seemed barely effected by the wound and rushed her in retaliation, managing to slash her unguarded forearm as she barely moved out of the way in time to avoid a more serious wound being inflicted.

The cut burned like hell on her skin, but the adrenaline was pumping steadily into her body, and she wanted nothing more than to keep fighting. She was breathing hard, already, but as the shade once more slithered towards her, she stayed as still as she could until the last moment, when she feinted to the side, managing to slice through its whole body. The demon must have been close to dying the first time, because her alabarda cut through its midsection with almost no effort at all; once the blade had carved through to the other side, Calli watched with satisfaction as the shade crumbled away in a stream of fractured green energy...

She took a moment to catch her breath once the shade had dissolved back into the rift, her eyes focused on the Chargers around her as they quickly dispatched what was left of the second wave of demons. The rift shifted then, and Callisto rushed forward towards where the Bull was standing, great axe hefted effortlessly in one hand as he warily waited for what came next. He turned to her before she even reached him, his one eye immediately taking notice of the gash on her forearm and the gore on the blade of her unsheathed weapon.

“Not bad, right?” he asked with a small chuckle, definitely pleased with himself. Callisto stifled the urge to roll her eyes at him, and focused instead on the rift in front of them.

“The demons were the easy part” she told him, a shiver run down her back as she tried to imagine what it would feel like closing the rift. “Now I have to seal this... let’s hope it works” she went on, taking a deep breath.

“I thought you already did this before” Bull countered, raising a questioning brow at her, at which she squirmed lightly under his gaze.

“ _Once_ ” she answered, “and I’m not sure how – I wasn’t exactly conscious of my actions at the time... I also passed out immediately after, so please don’t freak out if that happens again.” She explained, though she doubted her words were any comfort for anyone, especially herself.

She stole one more glance at the rift as she spoke, faintly hearing the voices of the corrupt sprits still calling out in anguish in the back of her mind.

“Just – have Dalish cast a _dispel_ on me if nothing happens after a minute, ok? I’ll be fine” she finally said, moving forward before she lost the nerve to do it. Her hands clenched tightly around the shaft of her alabarda, she started walking with purpose towards the rift, trying her best to ignore the voices in her head but at the same time, not to lose the connection she shared with the Fade.

Under the watchful gaze of the Chargers, she finally came to a stop just out of reach of the ever-shifting branches of the tear; with one last breath to steel herself, she forcefully planted her weapon on the soft muddy ground next to her before taking the last step into the rift’s influence.

As soon as she did, the green energy of the Fade snapped around her, dragging her up as if it wanted to consume her; immediately, Callisto’s mind went blank. Gone were the mercenaries at her back, the groaning of their leathers and armours, the panting of their breaths – all that remained was the blissful silence of the Fade beyond. Time seemed to have no meaning wherever she was, the only feeling washing through her a tugging that came from her chest...

Suddenly, in front her eyes, she saw the tear mending itself, like skin stitching back together with magic; the image spurred something inside of her, and Callisto felt the need to will the rift to close faster, helping it along until all that remained was a faint sigh at the back of her skull.

A second later, her body reacquainted itself with the muddy ground of the road she had just been floating over. The world rushed back into focus just as quickly as the air rushed out of her lungs, both for the shock and the impact with the ground.

Ironically, the first coherent thought that popped up in her head, was that she was still conscious – progress, at least.

A small cheer erupted behind her, and Callisto turned her head over her shoulder to see the Chargers celebrating her success; though, she was sure, most of it was due to the relief of not having to tell their new employers that one of their key members had been consumed by a rift.

“Holy shit you did it” the Iron Bull incredulous laughter preceded his appearance next to her, and Calli accepted the offered hand to get back on her feet.

“It looked fucking creepy, but the rift is gone” he went on, making her chuckle in return.

“One of you will have to describe it to me, I have to know I don’t look _too_ stupid while I do it” she joked, dusting off dirt from her leathers and brushing past the Iron Bull to get her weapon back.

“You were _floating_ ” said Krem some ways ahead, calmly sheathing his sword now that it wasn’t needed anymore.

“And you almost looked possessed!” Dalish piped in, shivering slightly as she said so, eliciting a groan from both Stitches and Skinner at her side.

“As I said – _fucking creepy_ ” Bull concluded, shrugging a massive shoulder. “I think I prefer what your brother does” he added, aware of the souring expression that appeared on Callisto’s face at the comment. That she loved her twin was apparent to anyone who bothered to talk to her for more than five minutes, but there clearly were some issues between them that had yet to be resolved.

“Speaking of – the journey back was _completely uneventful_ , yeah?” Calli said, throwing a questioning glance over her shoulder at the qunari. The last thing she needed was for him to report to Dani (or the Council, for that matter), what had transpired; she wasn’t sure they’d let it slide, even though she’d acted in response to an emergency.

But Bull merely nodded, hefting his great axe back into its holster on his back.

“You’re the boss” he replied easily, motioning for the group to move out once more.

 

The remaining time on the road was, as Calli would have reported in extension to the whole of it, blissfully calm.

The group arrived in Haven late afternoon on the third day, and was promptly greeted by the familiar sounds of the training soldiers and the rhythmic noises of the forge.

“Well, this looks cosy” Bull chuckled as he took in the fortified village with a long sweep of his good eye.

“The most interesting part is way up there” Callisto replied, pointing at where the Breach stood in the Sky, closer here than it was anywhere else in the world.

“Yeah, no, I’ll pass. Point me towards the tavern and we’ll be fine” Bull said, trying hard not to shiver at the looming presence of the Breach.

“Just inside the gate, Krem knows the way” she told him, laughing under her breath. “First, we need to get you guys settled though. The rest can wait for tomorrow, preferably after breakfast” she went on, leading Bull and Krem to where she had spotted Cullen standing, putting his men through their paces.

The Commander took notice of them the moment they came around the bend and past the smithy, and turned to greet Callisto with a smile.

“Welcome back, Lady Callisto” he said, politely nodding at her and the two mercenaries accompanying her.

“It’s good to be back, Commander” she replied truthfully, actually glad to finally be back at Haven. Sure, she wouldn’t have minded staying on the Coast with Dani, but the Inquisition’s headquarters were better than being on the road indefinitely.

“Glad to see you too Lieutenant Aclassi, and I assume this is the Iron Bull?” Cullen went on, addressing the two men in her company.

“That’s me alright, a pleasure to meet you” Bull said.

He easily towered over Cullen without much effort, really, but Callisto somehow found him way less intimidating than she did the Commander; maybe it was the lack of armour, or the easy smiles... or maybe the fact that he was a trained spy that knew how to make himself less intimidating than he really was.

“Likewise; I’m eager to see for myself what the Chargers are made of” Cullen told him, earning himself a bright, proud smile from the big qunari.

“Ah, you are welcome to join our drills anytime, Commander” the Bull replied, sweetly. Next to him, Calli was certain she heard Krem groan under his breath. Was Bull _flirting_ with Cullen? Judging by the way Cullen seemed to blush and sputter, changing the topic of the conversation with the next sentence, Callisto took it as a yes.

“Josephine said you are welcome to settle wherever you find most suitable out here, so I’ll leave you to that” he said, barely hiccupping on the first half of the sentence.

Callisto thanked him for the information and made to move away, but before she could even take one step from him, Cullen stopped her once more.

“I almost forgot to tell you...” he begun, and the way he trailed off and his hand went to massage the back of his stiff neck immediately told her that whatever was coming next, she wasn’t going to like it.  “Your elder brother – Diego? He arrived just this morning. He, uh, wasn’t exactly pleased with _us_ – and _you_ , specifically”.

The news hit Callisto like a rushing Druffalo, momentarily knocking the wind out of her; she had joked with Dani about the possibility of Diego showing up at Haven, but she had never seriously believed e would make the journey south. Right about then she was regretting closing that rift – a two days trip back into the Frostbacks would have been worth it if just to be able to throw her older brother in the Fade.

Slowly, she tried to ease herself back into calmness with a deep breath.

“Where is he, now?” she asked quietly instead of releasing the ear-piercing scream that was building inside her chest steadily.

“I think he retired to your private cabin to rest” Cullen explained, clearly disliking the duty of news bearer that had somehow befallen him.

Calli shoulders sagged as she released a loud sigh.

“Thank you for the heads-up, Cullen; this was not something I’d have liked to have sprung on me, I appreciate it. If we’re lucky enough Diego will go back to Antiva once he has preached his piece...” she told him, wishing with all her might that that would be the case.

“And if we’re not?” the Commander automatically asked, almost without a thought.

“Then get ready to escort me to the Breach, because I _will_ hurl him into a rift.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone that has read all the way to here, I really hope you are enjoying this story! I've been working on this characters for a long time now, I'd love for you to like them as I do :D


	8. Chapter Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bit of an eventful night for Callisto...

After the interaction with Cullen, Callisto tried to drag her duty with the Chargers for as long as she could; she even offered to help put up the tents, but the Iron Bull threw her out of their makeshift camp pretty quickly, sending her on her way with the promise that they would pick up their unfinished business the following morning.

And so Callisto went, but not without lingering along the way to say hello to Harrit and thank him for the equipment he had provided her, stopping to chat a bit with Varric at his campfire, exchanging the latest gossip and consequently escaping when he started asking questions about her brother, and finally she turned right towards the Tavern rather than left to reach her cabin.

“Just watch and see, I can avoid this for as much as I want...” she muttered to herself as she went, scoffing at the thought that she should do nothing to avoid going back to her cabin. One of her biggest defects, she readily admitted, was her stubbornness, and along with her streak of recklessness she was going to avoid her brother for as long as she could; Maker, she was even going to sleep in the old cabin in the woods if that meant postponing the meeting to the next day!

“Callisto? Is that you?”

The question made her freeze mid step, and she mentally cursed her bad luck for placing the person she desperately wanted to avoid, right on her path. She didn’t even make it to the tavern for a drink before she had to face him, what a scam!

“Diego –” she greeted him, turning around to face him, “I thought you were resting.” She offered him a tight smile as she took in his ragged looks, possibly due to the travel rather than a general weariness. Mostly, he hadn’t changed at all since the last time she had seen him, almost two years ago now; he had moved out of Antiva to expand the family business in the Free Marches, and Calli hadn’t really bothered to keep in touch or ask where he was. The sporadic updates she received from her family, but neither her nor Dani had any interest them, especially because neither of them had gone along with their older brother for a long time.

Diego stepped closer to her, taking her changed looks in as she had been doing his, and suddenly she felt a little self-conscious of her dirty leathers and general dishevelled appearance after having been on the road for almost two weeks.

“I was, until one of your _Spymaster_ ’s people informed me you had returned” he replied, and Callisto made a note to send an ironic _thank you_ card to Leliana for her thoughtfulness.

“I see; I’m sorry I didn’t come to greet you directly, but I had some work that needed to be wrapped up” Callisto told him, fidgeting with the straps of her leather bodice. She had never felt comfortable in her brother’s presence, and the years apart hadn’t really attenuated the feeling.

“Ah, don’t worry about it” he replied, stunning his sister with just a sentence out of his mouth. “Here, let’s get inside, we can talk in front of a warm meal” he went on, placing a hand on Calli’s shoulder to steer her towards the entrance of the tavern. And good thing he did, because she was too shocked by his words; she didn’t remember a time, save maybe her early childhood, when her older brother had talked to her with such... lack of animosity.

They made their entrance in the tavern, where workers, scouts, and soldiers were already occupying the majority of the tables, and Callisto led them to the table near the window that always remained unoccupied for her brother and her. Along the way, Calli locked eyes with the amber ones of Maude; the mage was having dinner with some other people that worked with the healers, but had turned upon hearing the door open. They smiled at each other briefly, and Callisto decided she would go to her, later, to maybe see about getting herself some more tonics as sleeping at night had become even harder since she managed to close the rift.

Flissa enthusiastically came to take their orders once they were seated, all the while clearly gushing over Diego’s looks; she knew her brother was conventionally handsome, with his mop of black hair, those rich caramel eyes and his tanned skin, but for Calli he just looked normally unremarkable.

“So – The Inquisition...” Diego said, once the woman had left; his voice sounded neutral enough, but going by what Cullen had told her earlier, Calli didn’t doubt she was in for an earful.

“Yeah, it wasn’t really a choice; but we’re doing good work” she replied, shrugging one shoulder.

It was true that Dani and she had been thrust into this whole situation, but she couldn’t say that, were the circumstances different, she wouldn’t have joined the organization regardless at a later date.

“I understand, but you have been denounced by the Chantry! This is a heretical movement that –” and there it was, that religious rightfulness that the twins had grown to hate. But Callisto now had amassed some experience in dealing with people like her brother, and did not hesitate to interrupt him before he could finish his tirade.

“Fuck the Chantry, Diego! The Inquisition is helping, _our brother_ is helping! Dani is out there _right now_ trying to solve this mess; I don’t see the Chantry doing the same. We’ve been to Val Royeaux, the Clerics are more concerned with their own power squabble to realize that the Breach is the real threat here; so if you came just to preach, you can go back where you came from. Dani and I are perfectly fine without you” she told him, her eyes flaring a bit with the swelling of her anger; and then Callisto couldn’t say if Diego was more shocked by her defiant words or her blinding green eyes that, somehow, he had failed to notice up until then.

The conversation hit a lull as Flissa served them their food and drinks, but Calli was too inflamed to pay attention to what she imagined was the usual nug stew, instead going directly for her flagon of ale. Diego looked pensive on his side of the table, and took a couple spoonfuls of his dinner while he digested his little sister’s argument.

Finally, he breathed out, setting the spoon down by the bowl.

“I’m sorry – you’re right” he said then, to the clear continued shock of his sister. “I’ve talked with your Council, and I’ve been informed of your... _circumstances_ , and our family support towards the cause of the Inquisition. I didn’t come here to talk you out of this – I was just worried, believe it or not. We already lost a sister; I didn’t want to see it happen again...” Diego trailed off, leaving in his wake a truly stunned Callisto.  She had been ready to argue with him until she was wary to the bones, she definitely didn’t expect – whatever that was.

Diego _never_ talked about Marisol, their little sister. She had come into her magic at the young age of five, burning a frilly dress their grandma wanted her to wear to literal ashes.  Dani and Calli had been ten at the time, Diego sixteen, and while the twins had begged the family not to send her away, Diego had been the one to run and find the Templars.

That had been the first step towards their damaged relationship, which had only worsened when the Circle informed them that Marisol had been made Tranquil as punishment after the umpteenth escape attempt they had thwarted; she had been fifteen at the time. She then had been transferred to Kirkwall, where she perished during the fall of the Circle.

“So, now what? Are you gonna join?” Callisto asked instead, the memories of Marisol’s life too painful for her to relive them alone.

“I – don’t know. I would like to talk to Dani as well, when he gets back” Diego said, lowering his head with a sigh. It was kind of a novelty, seeing her brother this dejected, and she wasn’t sure she liked the change of attitude; or if she even believed it, to be honest.

“He shouldn’t be long, but you better get comfortable anyway – you never know.”

 

Callisto left her brother soon after they had finished their meal, her destination clear in her mind as she exited from the side door of the tavern and climbed the few steps up to where the healers shared their quarters. She knew Maude had a cabin to herself up there, just next Adan’s, and she lost no time in knocking at her door.

The mage opened up, took a look at her, and moved aside to let the other woman in.

“I guess that wasn’t a date” the healer commented as she immediately went back to work on the potions that littered her table. Callisto followed, lifelessly plopping down on a chair propped next to the desk.

“Not really, no. Just an... _overwhelming_ family reunion” she sighed, trying to put the whole encounter out of her mind.

Her defeated vice made Maude pause, stealing a longer glance of her guest; her sagged shoulders and the dark lines under her eyes told her there was more going on than simple tiredness after being out on the road.

“Are you ok?” she asked, waiting for Callisto to look up at her and reply before going back to her work.

“I may have not slept in a couple days... I was wondering if you could help with that, actually” Calli explained, smiling weakly. Between the headaches, the sleep deprivation, and now Diego, she was pretty much burnt out.

“Any particular reason you’re not sleeping?” Maude went on, determined to investigate the cause behind the symptoms before giving her any kind of treatment. She liked Callisto, the girl was an awkward mess most of the time, but she always tried hard to be helpful. After their first encounter with the rift, Callisto had visited her several times, even just to enjoy the company as they both worked in silence.

“Mainly it’s the headaches, they’ve been a constant since waking up with these” Calli replied, gesturing vaguely at her eyes, “but... I closed a rift, three days ago now – haven’t been able to sleep much since” she confessed, knowing a reprimand would come, but ready to receive it as it came from her favourite healer that she totally _did not_ have a crush on.

A low hum of understanding left Maude’s lips as the mage resumed to cork the vials he had already filed with potions and tonics.

“That would explain the bandage on your arm that you are trying to hide” she said, and Calli flinched lightly, unconsciously tugging the sleeve of her tunic lower to cover the bandage Stitches had applied. “I assume everything went well though, since you’re here and your escort is none the worse for wear” she went on, a cheeky smile pulling slightly at the corners of her mouth.

“First of all” Callisto began, suddenly incensed “ _I_ was _their_ escort, not the other way around. And secondly – yes, everything was good. The Chargers are an excellent company, they know what they’re doing out there; plus, I didn’t lose consciousness after the rift was gone, so that’s already better than last time” she said then, her pride taking offence at the notion that she could ever look weak in the mage’s eyes.

Her reaction earned her a gleeful chuckle from Maude, who barely resisted the need to ruffle up Callisto’s hair to annoy her as she would have done to a grumpy apprentice back in the Circle.

“Well I’ve seen their Captain; with him around I’m hardly surprised to hear that. That qunari is a brick wall” Maude then said, clearly appreciative of what her eyes had seen as she passed the Mercenaries earlier.

The meaning of her words did not go over well with Callisto, whose insides did an unpleasant summersault at the idea of Maude and Bull together; evidently there was some jealousy in her, but the surprising realization was that she both didn’t like the idea of Maude finding the Bull attractive, and at the same time she didn’t want him to appreciate the mage; she had spent enough time in Bull’s company by now to know that he would find the lithe, ebony skinned mage, just as attractive.

With a frown, she pushed the feeling at the bottom of her stomach to avoid having to acknowledge it – at the very least for the night.

“But anyway, I appreciate you coming to me with this. The best I can do now is give you a tonic to make you sleep and alleviate the headache a bit, however I suggest you speak with Solas in the morning; he will know if anything’s changed with your eyes” Maude went on, brining Calli back into the conversation. Whit that, she pushed the last vile she had just corked into her hand and moved all the others in the crate store right under the table.

“Thank you” Calli told her, taking the tonic and making to stand; “It’s good to know I can always come to you” she then said. This time, her smile was less tired and lighted up her bright green eyes.

 She was already half way to the cabin’s door when Maude stopped her.

“You don’t have to go back if you don’t want to; I don’t mind sharing my bed” the mage offered, seemingly unbothered by what meaning Calli ears might perceives in her words. As expected, the younger girl’s cheeks went up in flames as the blush spread even further; rationally, she knew there was nothing behind the offer, but the part of that was completely infatuated with the mage was screaming something else entirely to her.

“Are – are you sure I won’t bother you?” Callisto asked, her voice slightly raspy as her imagination ran wild with increasingly steamy scenarios.

“I’m sure. Now go grab a change of clothes, I’ll warm up some water for you; you are still covered in dust from the road.”

No sooner had the words left the mage’s lips that Callisto was running out the door towards her own cabin to pick up clean clothes and a shift to sleep in.

She mumbled something to Diego when he asked where she was going, telling him she would see him in the morning, and out she went again. By the time she made it to her place and back, Maude had a steamy tub of water waiting for her right in the middle of the little cabin.

“Come, take your clothes off” the mage prompted her, throwing her a glance from where she was kneeling next to the tub, one hand skimming the water to heat it up with her magic.

Callisto swallowed the lump in her throat, and carefully placed the bundle of clean clothes on the now empty table as she moved towards the tub. She hesitated for a split second, unsure on how she felt about undressing in front of Maude – especially when the mage did not seem bothered by it at all – and then decided to just turn her back and be done with it.

“You know I can still see everything even with your back turned, right?” Maude asked with a chuckle, making Calli stumble on a clasp on her bodice.

“I know, but I can’t see _you_ ” she replied, feeling her blush spreading under her collar.

Maude hummed pensively, and Callisto heard her move behind her; in a couple steps the mage was standing right in front of her, a small smile pulling at her lips.

Before she could utter even a sound of protest, Maude swatted her hands away and started unbuckling the straps of her leathers, helping her out of them.

“Just relax, will you? You are feeling unwell and I’m taking care of you, nothing more” the mage told her soothingly, going on her knees to unlace her boots once the top layer had been removed.

“You are looking, though” Callisto breathed out, feeling herself relax a bit, but not enough to remove her embarrassment completely.

Maude chuckled, accepting the hand on her shoulder as Callisto used her for balance once her boots and socks were removed.

“I am – and I bet I’m not the only one” she replied teasingly, looking back up to Callisto from under her lashes.

The statement in itself was enough to send a blush burning through all her face and upper torso, but it also managed to evoke the feeling of another pair of eyes – or, to be exact, of _an eye_ on her skin; instinctively, she looked away and coughed lightly in her fist.

“Ah, looks like I’m right” Maude gloated, effortlessly rising back up to let Calli step out of her breeches. “Well, who is it then? Do you want me to guess?” she asked, giving her at the very least a modicum of privacy as she finally stripped of the last pieces of clothing and stepped in the tub.

When Callisto still ignored the question, Maude went on undeterred.

“Alright then, I’ll just go through the possibilities if you won’t tell me” she said, trying to elicit something more of a reaction rather than the younger girl’s silence as a reply.

“My first guess would be Solas; he does look like he appreciates a good puzzle, and he seems already invested in your pretty eyes” the mage began, sitting on the edge of the tub while Callisto scrubbed her skin clean with a bar of scented soap she had been provided by her kind – and at the moment pretty frustrating host.

“Either of your advisers would be tricky, though I’m sure all three of them could easily have an interest in you; the Commander especially” Maude went on, and finally she managed to get a snort out of Calli with her last statement. She raised an eyebrow at the girl, then, silently inviting her to elaborate.

Callisto sighed.

“Cullen is a very attractive man, but I’d never put myself between my brother and his potential interest” she explained, ducking quickly under the water to wet her hair. She emerged a second later, taking back the bar of soap and working up a lather in her hands before massaging it on her scalp.

“The Herald fancies the Commander? I would have never guessed...” Maude said pensively, shamelessly following Callisto movement as she stretched to shampoo her hair, admiring her caramel skin and her curves under the water.

“He hides it well. Though, honestly, I’m not even sure he’s come to terms with it himself...” Calli explained, exhaling in pleasure as she massaged her skull, releasing some of the stress.

Maude gave her the time she needed to rinse both head and body before going back on their previous topic of discussion.

“I see. But then if it’s not the Commander, we don’t have many options left – especially since I refuse to believe someone like the First Enchanter might have caught your eye” she said with a slight shiver, handing Callisto the vial with the tonic that the girl had left on her desk before leaving.

“Drink it, this way it’ll take effect by the time you go to bed” she told her, taking back the empty glass once the other had swallowed the contents.

“Thank you – and can we please drop this game? Nobody has caught anybody’s eye” Callisto finally groaned, in equal part tired of the game and unwilling to reveal her attraction towards the Iron Bull – especially because she hadn’t been able to figure the man out yet, and she kind of refused to acknowledge her interest before she knew he wouldn’t stab her or her brother in their backs.

But Maude was the stubborn kind of person that often took things too far, and she particularly enjoyed getting under Callisto’s skin.

“Interesting turn of phrase...” she trailed off, wandering from the tub just to offer Callisto a warm fluffy towel to dry herself in, arms spread wide to invite her. “You know, something leads me to believe you actually fancy that mercenary Captain of yours” she finally said, quite nonchalantly, but looking avidly for a reaction of any kind. She needn’t have looked too hard, for Callisto immediately stumbled on her way up, almost falling back into the water as she did so, barely catching herself on Maude’s extended arms.

The mage just chuckled, helping her out of the tub without a word and guiding her towards her bed, where a fire roared near in its hearth.

“Sit, let me brush your hair” she told her, grabbing the instrument from her vanity next to the bed.

Calli complied, still silently trying to rage in her embarrassment of having been caught so easily. It was a novelty for her, this attraction she was feeling towards two different individuals, especially because she usually never acted on her feelings...

“You don’t need to be embarrassed around me, Callisto. I like you, you don’t have to worry about it, alright? And I’ll gladly listen to you gush about the qunari as well, I won’t mind” Maude told her as she soothingly brushed the knots out of Calli’s hair.

Callisto was surprised at the absence of a further wave of embarrassment once she had heard Maude’s words, and instead she felt completely relaxed and peaceful; that was probably the tonic, or the blue glow on the mage’s hands as she worked behind her...

“I won’t _gush_ about the Iron Bull” she told Maude with a bit of a pout, “he is handsome, but I don’t trust him yet – and you shouldn’t either. He’s a Ben-Hassrath, a _spy_ from the Qun; he acts his part very well, and is amiable enough, but I won’t let his charm distract me. As long as I’m not sure about his loyalties he remains a threat for my brother and me...” she explained, her voice now getting drowsy as her eyes started to flutter close with every word.  “But I can gush about _you_ , instead, if you’d like – I trust you implicitly” Callisto told her instead, turning her head slightly to offer Maude a cheekily tired smile. “I also find you very attractive” she added, after a moment, her eyes unconsciously falling to the mage’s plump smiling lips as she said so.

Maude chuckled lightly, combing her hand through Callisto’s hair and then moving it to cup her cheek.

“Please, _do_ ” she told her, stroking her thumb on the other woman’s lips enticingly.

Callisto made a mewl sound in her throat, hunger building in her stomach as she pressed forward to close the distance between the two of them. Her lips clumsily crushed on Maude’s, and the softness she found there was exactly as she had expected.

The mage smiled into the kiss, pleasantly surprised by the sudden initiative the girl had taken, and answered the kiss with matched enthusiasm, taking control of it as she bit down on her bottom lip. Calli gasped, opening up her mouth to invite Maude’s tongue in, eager to taste her on her own, but the mage broke the kiss instead.

“I’d love to continue this, but you should really sleep now” she told her, breathing a bit more heavily than she had before the kiss.

Calli whined slightly, but before she could even think to protest, a yawn took over and she felt her tiredness come crashing back down.

“Tomorrow then” she whispered, taking another quick kiss from Maude’s lips before letting herself fall back on the bed and, soon, asleep.


	9. Chapter Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Calli's stubborness finally gets her somewhere.

The following days were a bit of a blur for a Callisto as she moved from a task to the other, all the while ignoring her feelings towards various individuals.

The morning after her arrival had been filled with glee and pleasant moments as she woke up in Maude’s arms, and the idea of a prospect relationship with the mage gave her enough happiness to even be able to talk with her brother and not feel the need to run away every thirty seconds. The talk she had with the Council, though, had been another matter; her mood had soured ever so slightly as they reported their conversation with Diego. She almost felt the need to apologise on his behalf, but then remembered he didn’t really deserve it. Thankfully, the rest of the day was spent finishing up the deal with Bull and the Chargers, and Callisto had put aside the headache of her brother.

From there, all that remained was waiting for Dani to return from the Coast. There were other matters they needed to talk over, besides their brother’s presence, and chief amongst those was the missive Cullen had received some time before his return. Apparently, some of the Templars that had left Val Royeaux had reached out to the former Knight-Commander for help, declaring their situation highly suspicious; there was corruption in the ranks, and no one really knew what to do or how to act. And with that, the discussion about Templars versus Mages picked up again with double the vigour than when they had put it aside.

On one of these occasions, where Calli mostly stood around the War Room with a bored expression on her face, she decided she had had enough of the circular discussion.

“Why not get in contact with both parties, then?” she piped up, gaining the undivided attention of the room with just a simple question. The three advisers squared off in their corners, giving her a questioning glance.

“You keep arguing on which faction to go after – we should just go with both and get it over with” she elaborated, shrugging in her shoulders. To her, it seemed like the easiest solution to their endless conundrum.

“It’s not that simple” Leliana began from her side, regarding Calli with hard set eyes, as if she was a child that could not get the nuances of the situation. “The Lord Seeker still won’t meet us, and the mages –”

“Have invited the Inquisition to meet them in Redcliff” Callisto cut the Spymaster off; she didn’t appreciate this change of attitude that the Sister displayed towards her, she didn’t appreciate being treated like a child.

“Which could easily be a trap” Cullen cut in with severity, but at least she wasn’t surprised by his stance.

“You want me to believe that the missive you received isn’t just as suspicious?” Calli bit back, her eyebrows rising almost to her hairline in her exaggerated gesture of surprise.

“Lady Callisto has a point” Josephine finally spoke up; “both circumstances have their degree of risk” she told her colleagues, and Calli thanked her with a nod.

From her right, Leliana released a heavy sigh.

“Even if we wanted to go after both, I’m not sure either party will settle for anything less than a meeting with the Herald; and he can’t be in two places at once” the Spymaster argued, as if she couldn’t see any other solution to the problem, which made Calli bristle quite a bit.

“Sister, you forget that despite just one of us holding the title, both my brother and I hold the same ability. And, while _the Herald_ can’t be in two places at once, the Inquisition easily can” Callisto voiced in her stubbornness, her arms tightening  in front of her chest as the surprise registered on all their faces.

Calli almost wanted to gag as she recognized the expression that appeared on the advisers’ faces; clearly none of them held any faith in her.

Before any of them had the chance to reply, though, the door behind her creaked open, letting the aforementioned Herald inside the room. Relief washed on all their faces; now that Dani was there, it wouldn’t fall to them to dissuade Callisto of her conviction that she could be even remotely helpful to the cause.

“They told me you were in session, is everything ok?” Dani asked, his brown eyes quickly acknowledging the tension running through all of them.

“The Commander had received news from the Templars; they are stationed in the fortress of Therinfall Redoubt, and going by what the missive says, something is amiss in the ranks” Callisto spoke up, brining her brother up to speed with a bitter note in her voice. “ _Your_ Councillors were discussing what to do with the information. This is the usual argument about whether to contact one faction over the other” she went on, really not bothering to cover up her displeasure towards said people. What annoyed her the most, was that she had thought these people valued her; apparently they were only entertaining her whims on behalf of her brother. Somehow, the mark she held in her eyes was less important than the one on his hand...

Dani picked up the animosity in his sister’s demeanour immediately, throwing her a long side glance that she pointedly ignored.

“I see... well, that certainly worries me. But do we have a way of verifying the information? I don’t think we should act before we know more” Dani replied diplomatically, still unsure what the tension filled air he had walked in was really about.

“We can send out scouts to do a sweep of the fortress” Leliana finally spoke up, her eyes settling on the marker on the map they had used to pin the location.

“That would be ideal, yes. The more we know, the better prepared we can be to intervene” Dani acknowledged with a nod. On the other side of the table, Calli noticed some of the tension leave the Commander as his posture became relaxed; he probably thought the arguing was over, now that Dani had taken a decision.

Well, he was wrong.

“What about the Mages? Grand Enchanter Fiona invited us to meet her in Redcliff” Callisto said, turning to look her brother in the eyes with expectation written all over her face.

“That she did...” Dani trailed off, pensively chewing on his bottom lip. “Maybe we can go talk to her while we wait for the Scouts to report back from Therinfall” he said, to her surprise amongst others.

That gave her the perfect excuse to try and push through with her agenda with him, even though she didn’t hold many hopes in her success.

“Or,” she began “ _I_ can go to Redcliffe to meet with the mages, and you can rest for a bit. The Hinterlands are mostly cleared now, it should be easy to avoid any major conflict; this way you can be ready to act if anything is to happen with the Templars” Callisto told him, sparing a glance to each of the advisers to gauge their reactions once more. No one said anything, but their pinched lips and frowned foreheads were eloquent enough – especially after their earlier discussion.

On her right, Dani took a deep breath; he probably was trying to find the words to let her down gently and avoid her anger...

“Honestly, I wouldn’t mind a break...” he said with a sigh, momentarily stunning the entire room into complete silence. “And Callisto is right – the Hinterlands are quieter now, I trust she can get to Redcliff without too much hassle” he went on, sharing a small smile with his sister. “She also has experience in dealing with mages that I lack” Dani added as an afterthought, his expression souring ever-so-slightly when he was suddenly reminded of her escapades in the Circle.

Callisto had to bit the inside of her cheek to avoid flooding the room with her glee, but her victorious smile was bright enough to do the job.

“I understand your point, Herald, but is it really a wise decision?” Cullen asked, though he did on behalf of the whole Council, Calli was certain.

“Commander, I’m never really sure of anything anymore” Dani sighed, one hand sneaking up to muss his own hair, the fingers loosening the braid on his crown. “I trust my sister, however, and tell the truth when I say she has _experience_ in dealing with mages and their politics” he reaffirmed, this time a bit more decisively, to the Council.

Silence fell on the room for a minute then, while the three exchanged looks of silent... _resignation_ more than understanding, really.

“It is settled then” Leliana finally said, putting the matter to rest, “I will send out my scouts to Therinfall, hopefully we will have news before the week is out”.

They all made to leave then, but as Callisto moved to the door she was reminded of one more thing that Dani still needed to be told.

She hurried to stand in front of the door, blocking the exit for everybody.

“What now?” Dani asked, his tone suddenly weary of this new interruption from his sister.

“There is _one more thing_ we forgot to tell you about...” she said, unable to conceal the grimace that surfaced on her features.  Behind Dani, the Council tensed up once more as they came to her same conclusion; this whole mages and templars affair had pushed their other topic of discussion out of their minds.

“Which is?” Dani was starting to get worried with their reticence to speak...

“It’s Diego – he’s here”.

 

All in all Dani took the news better than Callisto had, but only because he was probably too tired to get either angry or frustrated.

The two brothers met with no fanfare, quiet words were exchanged between them, and the meeting ended peacefully soon after. Callisto did not join in the conversation; she just sat on their bed while she listened to her brothers. Diego repeated to Dani the same explanation he had given her, and expressed his desire to remain in Haven and help the Inquisition however way he could; apparently, he was ready to put his rhetoric aside.

“Your faith and the Inquisition don’t have to clash with each other, Diego. The organization was founded by the hands of the Divine themselves, and the majority of the people that flock to us are devoted. Our only complaints are towards the Chantry, not Andraste. I suggest you speak with Mother Giselle, I’m sure she can help with your doubts” Dani told him, then, decisively more helpful to their brother than Callisto had been. But that was where the difference between the twins laid; Dani had always been the forgiving one, while Calli hardly believed in second chances to begin with.

After that particular conversation had been exhausted, they settled on an arrangement for the cabin, since Diego had taken up residence in there while Dani was gone. Calli had slept alternatively on a cot or in Maude’s bed for the past weeks, but was starting to get restless with the lack of privacy.

“I was thinking of moving outside to the cabin in the woods. I just have to clean it up a bit” Calli then said, the first intervention in the whole conversation.

“Are you sure? Isn’t it a bit isolated?” Dani asked, both concerned for her safety and reticent to share his personal space with his brother.

Callisto shrugged.

“I don’t mind – and you can use it while I’m gone” she told him, already thinking of what she needed to fill the small space to be habitable; she’d probably have to swing by Threnn to requisition some stuff.

“You’re leaving?” Diego asked, looking at her with what seemed like concern in his eyes.

“Yeah, I’m going back to the Hinterlands to talk to the Mage Rebellion” she told him, well aware of Dani grimacing on their brother’s other side as she said it. Diego was probably second only to the Commander in his dislike for mages, and that was just because he wasn’t a templar; but the decision had been made, and he had no authority over it.

“The Mage Rebellion? Why?” he asked, and to his credit there was no horror or judgement in his voice, only genuine curiosity.

“The Grand Enchanter has extended us an invitation, and Calli will go on behalf of the Inquisition” Dani explained, rising from his seat at the desk to put away some of his equipment still lying around.

“I see; and what about the Templars? I’ve been told they left the Capital” Diego went on, and his composure really outstood both siblings. Maybe time away had changed their brother as well, but past deeds were still hard to forget – at least on Calli’s part.

“We’ve just received intel that they are holding up in a fortress in Ferelden, scouts have been dispatched. Dani will investigate once we know more” this time it was Callisto that explained, joining her brother on her feet as she too moved to gather her stuff.

“Does this mean you are going after both parties? I was under the impression that you needed just either one to close the Breach” he went on, idling observing his twin siblings as they moved around, both so similar and yet completely different in their outlooks of the world. It had been years since their relationship had soured, and clearly they were now inclined to not believe his views had shifted as well; not that he could or would blame them, he knew they would never forgive him for Marisol’s fate...

“We are – or at least we’ll try. Nothing is set in stone yet, not before we know what we’re dealing with” Dani told him, methodically shading the mail of his armour to get comfortable.

“Of course; please let me know what I can do to help, I will aid you any way I can” Diego told them, and he hoped they could believe the sincerity of his words.

 

“I heard a whisper that you’re going to meet the mages!” a voice called out to Callisto as she strolled with purpose through the village. She stopped then, only to be accosted by Maude, who had jogged to catch up with her. Callisto smiled brightly at the mage, happy to see her.

“That’s true, I was just about to go ask Bull and Varric if they wanted to join me; Solas already agreed” she explained, excited to finally lead her own party for once.

“I want to go, too” Maude told her then, her face set in a serious and determined expression, a deep contrast to the cheerful disposition of Callisto.

The younger woman thought the request over in her mind for a second, but ultimately she couldn’t find any faults with the idea of bringing a healer along with them; if anything, she suspected both Dani and the Council would be relieved by her presence.

“Sure, I don’t see why not. We leave tomorrow morning at the eighth bell” Callisto told Maude happily, now even more eager to embark on the journey ahead.

It was Maude’s turn to smile then, as she stepped into Calli’s space to place a quick kiss on her cheek; chaste, sure, but enough to make Callisto’s caramel skin go red.

“Thank you, I appreciate it” she told her, a cheeky grin stuck on her lips now; “do you want some company? I’m curious to know this Iron Bull better” she went on, wiggling her eyebrows to a now mortifyingly reddened Callisto.

“I- No –” she stumbled through her words like a fumbling idiot, the idea of those two coming in contact with each other now back in her mind along with all the possible outcomes.

Was it too late to tell Maude she had changed her mind?

Callisto urged her brain to slow down; she took a breath and then tried again.

“What I meant was – I don’t really have the time to stop and chat with him. Besides, you will have the whole trip to the Hinterlands to talk to him” _regretfully_ , she added to herself.

Maude gave her a once over, a knowing light shining in her deep brown eyes as she did so.

“I understand, I will try to make the best of our time on the road, then” she replied, chuckling when Callisto visibly felt the regret manifest all over her features.

“Don’t worry Calli, I’ll be on my best behaviour – I promise” Maude told her before reaching for her hand. Calli obliged, letting the mage squeeze it affectionately.

“Yeah, it’s not you I’m worried about” she sighed, mostly as a comment to herself, but Maude smiled nonetheless at the remark.

“Just focus on what you need to do, everything else will be ok” the mage told her reassuringly, offering one last squeeze of her hand before leaving her to her recruitment tasks.

The day was still long, and many were the things Callisto needed to ready before their departure; hopefully there wouldn’t be any setbacks to her first mission without her brother.

 

“A Gray Warden, that’s a surprise” Varric commented offhandedly as he brought his pony to a stop next were Callisto had just dismounted her mare. In her hands, a thin parchment was unfolded to full length relying Leliana’s message.

“Yeah, so it says here. Our Spymaster relays he’s the only one that has appeared since before the Conclave – everybody else has apparently gone into hiding” she said, absentmindedly picking a piece of dried jerky from one of her pouches to feed the raven still obediently perched on her horse’s saddle. The bird ate the meat with a cheerful caw as a thank you, and didn’t even flinch as she moved around to rummage in the rucksack hanging from the side of the saddle.

“Well isn’t that convenient” Bull butted in as he reappeared after having left his massive stallion with the scouts manning the forward camp.

Callisto snorted.

“Very much so. At least he won’t be hard to find; Leliana wants us to ask him what he knows of the disappearance of the other Wardens” she went on, finally fishing out a similar but blank piece of paper and her ever present quill with the ink. She quickly penned a reply to the Sister, affixed it to the raven’s leg, and sent it on its way after offering another piece of meat as a treat for the road.

“We can ask around in the village below, I’m sure someone knows about it. I doubt the presence of a Gray Warden has gone unnoticed, especially _here_ ” Varric offered, finally dismounted from his pony as well.

“Won’t be necessary, the scouts just told me the Warden was spotted near a cottage on Lake Luthias; the spot it’s not an hour away from here” Maude stepped in the conversation, followed by Solas. The two had been discussing magical theory for the whole journey to the Hinterlands, switching between common an elvhen through the different conversations. Half of them Calli couldn’t even follow, and it wasn’t because of language barriers. She would have thought that Maude and Solas would clash more than get along given their completely opposite lives, but apparently their opinions converged in more spots than not.

Maybe she had been worrying after the wrong man all along...

“Ok then, let’s just take a break here and then we can move on. The sooner we see to this Warden, the faster we can get to Redcliffe; I don’t want to leave the Grand Enchanter waiting more than she already has” Callisto concluded, putting her supplies and Leliana’s missive away.

 

 

Dani was practicing his paces on the dummies in the training grounds when a scout literally materialized out of the blue to hand him a missive.

After pretending he hadn’t been spooked by the sudden appearance, he accepted the parchment and dismissed Leliana’s agent.

His sword forgotten on the ground, Dani moved to seat on a crate as he opened up the folded letter; immediately he recognized his sister’s handwriting: hopefully Calli was writing only to report and not because a disaster had happened.

Both options were honestly likely when it came down to his sister.

 

“Dani –

I have good and bad news for you. I’d ask you which one you’d like to hear first, but I’m afraid you’ll just have to be satisfied with my storytelling here.

First of all, we found the Warden Leliana had been asking about; he didn’t really have any information, but has offered to help the Inquisition, so we’re bringing him along.

Blackwall is his name. Can’t say much about him, but he is as skilled as they come with a sword and shield; he also has a very cool beard, so that’s a plus!

Now, onto the more worrisome part: we safely reached Redcliff this morning, only to be greeted by a fade rift outside the gate.

I managed to close it, but let me tell you – this one was _freaky_! It was shifting time around itself, slowing it in some pockets and accelerating it in others...

Both Solas and Maude were speculating real hard until the answer was literally delivered to us.

Apparently, Grand Enchanter Fiona did _not_ remember meeting us in Val Royeaux – but get _this_ : she has pledged the whole Rebellion to a Tevinter Magister!

Isn’t that funny?

Magister Gireon Alexius has, as of some weeks ago, taken over authority over the southern mages.

I tried my best to negotiate with him – though I was fishing for information more than anything, really, but we were interrupted.

This is where it gets interesting!

His son, Felix, faked illness and sneakily passed me a note that said to meet in the Chantry.

Of course we went there, promptly found another rift, and with it a dashing young mage fighting the demons that poured out of it.

Said mage answers to the name of Dorian Pavus; he apparently was a former pupil of Alexius’. The two fell out of favour with each other when Alexius joined a group of Tevinter fanatics called _Venatori_ , which Dorian refused to have anything to do with.

He also implied that Alexius has beaten us here via _time magic_ , can you believe it? My mages here have been pulling at their hair to figure it out – or well, furiously rubbing their bald head, in Solas’ case.

Felix says these Venatori are obsessed with our marks, and will do anything to get to us.

I don’t know about you, but I kind of feel flattered? At least they are acknowledging my part in all of this!

At any rate, we will soon be on our way back to Haven to discuss this with the Council – though I’m sure news will have already reached Leliana way before you’ll be able to read my letter.

I suggest you take a decision about which side to go after soon, otherwise we might lose both options before we come to an agreement.

 

I will see you soon.

 

Your favourite sister,

Callisto”


End file.
